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Flag of Chicago

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Flag of Chicago
UseCivil flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Reverse side is congruent with obverse side
Proportion2:3
AdoptedOriginal, 1917; additional stars added, 1933 and 1939.
DesignArgent four mullets of six points gules in fess between two bars bleu de ciel.
Designed byWallace Rice

The flag of Chicago consists of two light blue horizontal bars, or stripes, on a field of white, each bar one-sixth the height of the full flag, and placed slightly less than one-sixth of the way from the top and bottom. Four bright red stars, with six sharp points each, are set side by side, close together, in the middle third of the flag's surface.[1]

Chicago is a city in Illinois, United States. Its flag was adopted in 1917 after the design by Wallace Rice won a City Council sponsored competition. It initially had two stars until 1933, when a third was added. The four-star version has existed since 1939. The three sections of the white field and the two bars represent geographical features of the city, the stars symbolize historical events, and the points of the stars represent important virtues or concepts. The historic events represented by the stars are the establishment of Fort Dearborn, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, and Century of Progress Exposition of 1933–34.

In a review by the North American Vexillological Association of 150 American city flags, the Chicago city flag was ranked second-best with a rating of 9.03 out of 10, behind only the flag of Washington, D.C.[2]

Symbolism

Initial flag of Chicago using a design similar to the modern one, in use from 1917 to 1933
Flag of Chicago from 1933 to 1939
History and meaning of the Chicago flag

Bars

The three white background areas of the flag represent, from top to bottom, the North, West, and South sides of the city. The top blue bar represents Lake Michigan and the North Branch of the Chicago River. The bottom blue bar represents the South Branch of the river and the "Great Canal", over the Chicago Portage.[3] The light blue of the flag's two bars is variously called sky blue[4] or pale blue;[5] in a 1917 article of a speech by designer Wallace Rice, it was called "the color of water".[6][7]

Stars

Kitty Kelly holding Flag of Chicago[8] from the Chicago Tribune, 1921. Note the two stars on the flag at the time.

There are four red six-pointed stars on the center white bar. Six-pointed stars are used because five-pointed stars represent sovereign states and because the star as designed was found on no other known flags as of 1917.[9] From the hoist outwards, the stars represent:

  • Added in 1939: Commemorates Fort Dearborn, and its six points stand for political entities the Chicago region has belonged to and the flags that have flown over the area: France, 1693; Great Britain, 1763; Virginia, 1778; the Northwest Territory, 1789; Indiana Territory, 1802; and Illinois (territory, 1809, and state, since 1818).[1][3]
  • Original to the 1917 flag: This star stands for the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Its six points represent the virtues of religion, education, aesthetics, justice, beneficence, and civic pride.[1][3]
  • Original to the 1917 flag: This star symbolizes the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Its six points symbolize transportation, labor, commerce, finance, populousness, and salubrity (health).[1][3]
  • Added in 1933: This star represents the Century of Progress Exposition (1933–34). Its points refer to: Chicago's status as the United States' second largest city at the time of the star's addition (Chicago became third largest in a 1990 census when passed by Los Angeles); Chicago's Latin motto, Urbs in horto ("City in a garden"); Chicago's "I Will" motto; the Great Central Marketplace; Wonder City; and Convention City.[1][3]
Flag of Alliance Française de Chicago students
City of Chicago Flag, alongside the US and Illinois State Flags at Navy Pier

Additional stars have been proposed, with varying degrees of seriousness. The following reasons have been suggested for possible additions of a fifth star:

Hypothetical version of the Chicago flag with a fifth star added

Unlawful private use

Per the Municipal Code of Chicago, it is unlawful to use the flag, or any imitation or design thereof, except for the usual and customary purposes of decoration or display. Causing to be displayed on the flag, any letter, word, legend, or device not provided for in the Code is also prohibited. Violators are subject to fines between $5.00 and $25.00 for each offense.[20] However, the United States Constitution, via its first and fourteenth amendments, prohibits this section from being enforced (Street v. New York).

History

In 1915, Mayor William Hale Thompson appointed a municipal flag commission chaired by Alderman James A. Kearns. Among the commission members were wealthy industrialist Charles Deering and impressionist painter Lawton S. Parker. Parker asked lecturer and poet Wallace Rice to develop the rules for an open public competition for the best flag design. Over a thousand entries were received.[citation needed] The 318th Cavalry Regiment incorporated the flag into their insignia.[citation needed]

  • Sketches for the flag from a contest from 1892.[21] This design ultimately became used in the municipal device.[22]
    Sketches for the flag from a contest from 1892.[21] This design ultimately became used in the municipal device.[22]
  • Flag proposed by Francis Davis Millet in 1892, based on Alfred Jensen Råvad's winning design of the Chicago Tribune contest. Despite never being approved by the city council, it became widely used as an unofficial city flag during the World's Columbian Exposition in particular. It was ultimately superseded by Chicago's first official flag in 1917.
    Flag proposed by Francis Davis Millet in 1892, based on Alfred Jensen Råvad's winning design of the Chicago Tribune contest. Despite never being approved by the city council, it became widely used as an unofficial city flag during the World's Columbian Exposition in particular. It was ultimately superseded by Chicago's first official flag in 1917.
  • Twenty-three other icons that were commissioned representing different city departments could be placed on the flag for that department.[23]
    Twenty-three other icons that were commissioned representing different city departments could be placed on the flag for that department.[23]
  • Chicago flag of 1917 poster, with "I Will" motto.
    Chicago flag of 1917 poster, with "I Will" motto.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e City of Chicago (March 18, 2020) [Originally published 1990.]. "1-8-030 Municipal flag – Design requirements". Municipal Code of Chicago (Municipal code.). American Legal Publishing Corporation. sec. 1-8-030. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020 – via American Legal Publishing's Code Library.
  2. ^ "2004 American City Flags Survey" Archived 2017-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, North American Vexillological Association press release, 2 October 2004
  3. ^ a b c d e "Chicago Facts: Municipal Flag". Chicago Public Library. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  4. ^ Loerzel, Robert (August 22, 2013). "Chicago's Flag Is a Much Bigger Deal Than Any Other City's Flag". Chicago magazine. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  5. ^ Stewart, Jude (July 18, 2012). "Flying Colors: The Best and Worst of Flag Design". Print Magazine. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  6. ^ "Association Sounds Chicago's Call . . ". Chicago Commerce. Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry. December 6, 1917. p. 6.
  7. ^ Rumore, Kori (June 14, 2022). "The Chicago flag design: History of every star — including one for the Great Chicago Fire — and stripe". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  8. ^ Marx, Kori Rumore and Ryan. "Chicago's flag: The history of every star and every stripe". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  9. ^ Rice, Wallace; T. E. Whalen (July 22, 2005). "Wallace Rice on Chicago Stars". introvert.net. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  10. ^ Heise, Kenan (August 15, 1976). "It's a grand old flag. But it could be grander". Chicago Tribune Magazine. p. 34. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  11. ^ Whalen, T.E. (January 3, 2006), The Municipal Flag of Chicago: References (PDF), p. 8
  12. ^ a b c Konkol, Mark (June 30, 2015). "The Story of the Rare 5-Star Chicago Flag That Wasn't Supposed To Exist". My Chicago. DNAinfo. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  13. ^ "Please, A Moratorium On Memorials". Chicago Tribune. December 23, 1987. Retrieved January 18, 2013. Ald. Raymond Figueroa and others want a fifth star added to the city's flag in memory of Mr. Washington.
  14. ^ Chicago 2016 Newswire (December 14, 2006), Chicago Students Creatively Try to Bring Home the Bid, Chicago 2016 Committee, archived from the original on February 10, 2007, retrieved April 14, 2017{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Sneed, Michael (July 18, 2018). "Anne Burke wants fifth star on Chicago flag for Special Olympics". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  16. ^ Janssen, Kim (November 29, 2016). "Add a fifth star to Chicago flag, Justice Anne Burke tells Emanuel". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  17. ^ a b Rumore, Kori; Marx, Ryan (June 13, 2016). "Chicago's flag: The history of every star and every stripe". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  18. ^ "The Fifth Star Challenge". Chicago History Museum.
  19. ^ Cherone, Heather (May 8, 2020). "Lightfoot Outlines 5-Phase Plan to Reopen Chicago". WTTW.
  20. ^ City of Chicago (March 18, 2020) [Originally published 1990.]. "1-8-090 Private use of flags and emblems unlawful". Municipal Code of Chicago (Municipal code.). American Legal Publishing Corporation. sec. 1-8-090. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020 – via American Legal Publishing's Code Library.
  21. ^ Loerzel, Robert (April 14, 2017). "The Story of Chicago's Four-Star City Flag". Medium. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  22. ^ Marx, Kori Rumore and Ryan. "Chicago's flag: The history of every star and every stripe". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  23. ^ Marx, Kori Rumore and Ryan. "Chicago's flag: The history of every star and every stripe". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019.

Further reading

  • "Art and Architecture: How the Chicago Municipal Flag Came to be Chosen", Chicago Daily Tribune, July 17, 1921, p. 21.
  • "City Gets New Flag Today with Third Star for 1933 Fair", Chicago Daily Tribune, October 9, 1933, p. 7.
  • "Fort Dearborn Gets a Star on Chicago's Flag", Chicago Daily Tribune, December 22, 1939. p. 18.
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