Flag of Milwaukee

Milwaukee
Flag of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Adopted 1954
Designed by Fred Steffan

The official flag of Milwaukee was adopted in 1954.[1]

Description

It displays symbols of Milwaukee on a medium blue background. In the center, a gear, representing industry, bears symbols of Milwaukee's identity and history. An Indian head, resembling the Milwaukee Braves logo at the time,[1] represents Native American origins. A flag with two stars, said to be a Civil War-era flag,, may also represent a service flag.[2] A lamp symbol in the upper right was once associated with the Milwaukee City Library.[1] Below this is Milwaukee City Hall, representing government, which is flanked by a church, a factory, and the County Stadium. The golden barley stalk on the left represents Milwaukee's brewing history, and the red ship with water symbolizes Milwaukee's status as a port city.

History

The first attempt to introduce a civic flag came in an 1897 Milwaukee Journal contest. The winning entry included an oak branch with the motto "Steady Progress" over a cream-colored field.[3] The design was praised by then-mayor William C. Rauschenberger, who lost reelection shortly thereafter. The flag never came into use.[4]

In the 1950s, Milwaukee leaders discovered it was one of only four cities with a population over 500,000 without a flag, and so the city held a contest for flag designs. Former alderman Fred Steffan combined elements of some of the better entries to create the flag.

There have been four efforts to redesign the flag, the first three of which were rejected.[5] As of March 2016, the fourth has yet to be resolved.

In 1975, a Milwaukee Public Museum employee won a citywide contest. Although the designer won the contest's prize of a $100 savings bond, his flag was not adopted.[6][7]

In 2001, the Milwaukee Arts Board of the Milwaukee Common Council held a contest to attract designs for a new flag. Over 105 designs were submitted, but none met with the approval of the board, and the old design was kept.[8] In a 2004 poll conducted by the North American Vexillological Association, the flag of Milwaukee was rated the fourth worst of all major cities in the United States.[9] The symbols on the flag were common tropes of industry, manufacturing, and agriculture during the mid-20th century.

In 2015, in response to negative media coverage spurred by a 99% Invisible episode, a graphic designer launched a flag contest, to be completed by June 2016.[5]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "Be Brave: City's Flag May Need Some Change". Milwaukee Journal. October 18, 1973. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  2. "Milwaukee, Wisconsin". Raven: A Journal of Vexillology 9: 216–218. 2002. doi:10.5840/raven2002/20039/1089. ISSN 1071-0043.
  3. "Design for Civic Flag". Milwaukee Journal. January 10, 1898 via Michaels, Chance (January 6, 2016). "Flying Milwaukee's Flag". Borchert Field..
  4. Michaels, Chance (January 6, 2016). "Flying Milwaukee's Flag". Borchert Field.
  5. 1 2 Moseley, Claire; Maternowski, Michelle (September 4, 2015). "Local Graphic Designer: Milwaukee Deserves a Great Flag. Period.". Milwaukee: WUWM.
  6. Amy Rabideau Silvers (October 8, 2007). "Tishler had a designer's eye". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  7. McCormick, Tim (June 2, 2015). "Running It Up The Flagpole". Milwaukee Magazine.
  8. Held, Tom (December 19, 2001). "Banner Bore: Designs for new city flag fail to capture spirit of Milwaukee, arts board decides". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
  9. "Washington, D.C. Tops American City Flags Survey", North American Vexillological Association press release, 2 October 2004 Archived January 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

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