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Municipalities listed below have been researched for municipal flags, mainly by searching their websites. Commonly U.S. cities use the city seal on a plain field as the city flag, so we have included information about the city seal where no
other flag is known.
See also:
The website at www.ci.rancho-cucamonga.ca.us shows both a logo and a much more complicated seal. The logo consists of a bunch of purple grapes with pale green leaves framed against a blue sky in a window outlined in black. The seal, on the other hand, is very large and colorful; within a circular format there is an outer ring in white, with the words 'THE CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CALIFORNIA' in large black sans serif block letters at the top. At the 5 and 7 o'clock positions are two black dots, while at the bottom of the outer ring the municipal slogan 'A World Class Community' is written in black upper and lower case lettering. In the immediate foreground of the central image is a display of the agricultural produce of the community, all in natural colors - tomatoes, grapes, and lemons. Beneath them is the word and date 'INCORPORATED NOV. 10, 1977' in smaller black block lettering. Above this display and in the left foreground is a modern glass agricultural greenhouse in white and violet, while in the right foreground is a California mission-style building in beige and terra cotta. Between these two structures are some rolling hills in darker
green, while behind the structures stand two date palms proper. Visible in the far background is a range of mountains in white and violet, with a very pale blue sky overhead.
Ron Lahav, 5 May 2005
No municipal web site
Ron Lahav, 5 May 2005
The website at http://www.cityofrsm.org shows a municipal seal that is ovoid in shape, bordered in black and gold externally and violet and white internally. The background color of the external ellipse is beige, with 'RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA' at the top in violet block lettering at the top and 'CALIFORNIA' similarly written at the bottom. At the 3 and 9 o'clock positions appear to be two Native American symbols, while the central image consists of a multicolored landscape, possibly adapted from a photograph.
Ron Lahav, 5 May 2005
The website at www.ci.red-bluff.ca.us shows the city seal is circular, with a gray outer ring and black external and internal borders. Within the outer ring the words 'CITY OF RED BLUFF' are written in black block lettering in a modified Old West font at the top and 'CALIFORNIA' at the bottom. The central image consists
of a colored photomontage of Red Bluff, with the spire of City Hall superimposed in the immediate foreground.
Ron Lahav, 2 June 2005
There may be a city flag here- in 2003 the city council minutes mention the possibility of holding a contest to design a city flag www.ci.red-bluff.ca.us/clerk/minutes/2003/060303.htm and at www.dexigner.com/graphic/news-g210.html there is a brief undated announcement of such a contest, but I have not been able to find any further news.
Ned Smith, 4 June 2005
The website at http://ci.redding.ca.us shows the circular seal has black external and internal bordering. Within the white outer ring the words 'CITY OF REDDING' are written in black stretched block lettering. There is a black dot at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, with the word 'CALIFORNIA' similarly written at the bottom. The central image consists of a stylized multicolored view of a local landscape, with a blue sky above the snow covered peak of either Mount Lassen or Mount Shasta, whose slopes are shown in various shades of green. The foreword is dominated by the spillway of a hydroelectric dam in white, with a black roadway running along the top. Behind the dam is a reservoir, while below the spillway is a river, both shown in blue. Two Douglas fir trees appear in the lower left foreground, while a rolling riverbank in green occupies the right foreground. A variant of the Redding seal can be found at
calparksco.com/images_park_logos/city_of_redding.jpg.
Ron Lahav, 2 June 2005
The website at www/ci.redlands.ca.us shows two municipal seals, one recent and one former version. The former seal is described on the American Traitors web site (q.v.), and the entire story of the Redlands seals is very strange indeed. The present version of the seal is in a circular format, and has a white background
color and a thick olive external border, together with very thin pale blue fimbriation and also internal bordering of the same coloring. Within the outer ring are the words 'CITY OF REDLANDS' in violet uncial script, at the top, and 'FOUNDED 1881 A.D.' at the bottom. The central image consists of a floral display which I am unable to identify in ochre, red, and green. This seal recently replaced an earlier one which was withdrawn as a result of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), an American political activist organization. As noted, the original seal can be found on the American Traitors web site, www.americantraitor.us/misctraitors.html. The original seal was likewise in a circular format, and blue external and black internal bordering. The outer ring was ochre, with the words 'CITY OF REDLANDS' in tall thin black block lettering. At the 10 and 2 o'clock positions respectively are what appear to be two Native American symbols in olive, while at the 4 and 8 o'clock positions are two black curlicues. At the bottom of the outer ring the word 'CALIFORNIA' is likewise written in similar lettering. The central image is quartered as follows: 1st, a dark blue sky, a Rotary International emblem proper at the upper right, a cityscape in white bordered black and shaded gray; 2nd, on a pale grey background a golden Scales of Justice with black borders, superimposed on which is an open book in white with black edging, and superimposed upon this is a Torch of Learning, also in gold with black edging and with an orange flame; 3rd, a gray sky with a tomato sliced in half and leaved, both proper, at the upper left of this quarter, while to the right is a golden sun with the disc edged in black and stylized golden rays, set in a gray sky, beneath which is a range of mountains in brown with the central peak in
white, a citrus tree proper in the lower left foreground and stylized irrigated fields in white and black in the lower right; and 4th, a dark blue sky with in the upper left a silver cross bordered gold and emitting golden rays, a stylized
church structure in gray, white, and black in the right foreground, and the lower third of this quarter being a brown-violet base. It is the appearance of the Cross and of buildings of an obvious religious nature which was the basis of
the ACLU lawsuit.
Ron Lahav, 2 June 2005
The City of Redlands, known as a "city of churches", site of the University of Redlands, two big shopping malls and a charming old town area full of restaurants, antique and jewelry stores - about 75 miles East of Los Angeles,
was a target of the threatened suit by the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) for the presence of the cross in their seal. That seal, designed in 1963 by the local police sergeant, was voted for removal by the city council, citing city's
inability to defend against ACLU suit on the financial grounds. The old seal is still being displayed on the municipal vehicles and buildings, but with the lower, right panel covered with
the piece of the blue tape. Meanwhile, the city reverted to the pre-1963 seal on its stationary.
Chris Kretowicz, 11 September 2004
The city's flag is white with the city seal in the center. It was used, but is no longer displayed, presumably due to the seal controversy. Unfortunately, we do not have a photo of the flag. As to the seal itself, the attached Redlands Daily Facts article should answer your second question. It has been taken verbatim from the newspaper.
Redlands Daily Facts, February 18, 1963Allison Peyton, A.K. Smiley Library, 12 June 2005
Before City Council: Proposed New City Seal Design
Design approval of an official city seal will be sought by the City Employees Association tomorrow night. Sketches of the proposed emblem, prepared by the association will be presented to the City Council. Ross Miller, Association president, stated that the seal is "so designed as to cover all general aspects of the community without emphasizing any one group." He said it was the Association's hope that the Council would accept the design and that the seal would become established as the city's official emblem. Mr. Miller said the City Employee's Association plans to use the proposed seal as the center piece of an Association lapel pin. "Other seals have been suggested, but the Council has not approved them. So we came up with this design," he stated. The Chamber of Commerce submitted sketches of a city emblem last March, but the Council took no official action adopting it as the City of Redlands seal. Mr. Miller said the Association's proposal was designed by Sgt. George Collins of the Redlands Police Department. The basic design is a circle divided into quarters. The upper left quarter designates industry, the upper right quarter features the torch of learning and the scales of justice, the lower left spotlights agriculture and the lower right emphasizes religious faith. Mr. Miller said the Association was proposing only the design. The color scheme would be worked out later to make reproduction as inexpensive as possible.
From Easy Reader web page reports that a senior at Redondo Union high School, Vanessa Pons, was the winning designer of a new city flag in 1999. The
16-year-old earned $500 for her design, a simple colorful depiction of the pier, the sun and a boat. The flag will be featured at the annual League of California Cities meeting later this month. The design will grace the city's first ever
civic flag. The design is likely that used as a logo at the top of the Redondo Beach home pages.
Dov Gutterman, 31 December 2002
The Redondo Beach municipal seal (www.southbaycities.com/sbcities.htm ) is in the now familiar circular format, and has a thick rope outer border cable laid in silver and black, with a similar but much thinner border similarly colored. The outer ring is silver, with the words 'CITY OF REDONDO BEACH' blindstamped in block lettering at the top, two small blindstamped dots at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, and the words 'INCORPORATED APRIL 29,1892' similarly blindstamped at the bottom. The central image depicts a maritime scene, with seabirds flying in a pale blue sky, a white- hulled vessel with three black masts and an unidentifiable black flag at the fore moored to a black jetty at the right and left respectively of the image, and both floating on or projecting into an ultramarine sea.
Ron Lahav, 2 June 2005
The website at www.fresnocog.org/city1/city_of_reedley.htm shows the seal of this city only in a B&W version. Its format is a modified circular one, with the outer ring expanded at the top into a tablet. Within the outer ring itself are the words 'CITY OF' in block lettering at the top, then 'REEDLEY' in larger block lettering within the tablet, and then again 'CALIFORNIA' to the right of the tablet. The bottom of the outer ring contains the words' 'THE WORLD'S FRUIT BASKET' in smaller block lettering. The central image consists of an outline map of California extending the entire length of the image. To the right of the map is a local landscape with a cluster of dates in the upper left. To the left of the map is an overflowing cornucopia in the lower left foreground, with a cluster of grapes at the upper left.
Ron Lahav, 2 June 2005
A much larger and clearer image in color is a www.reedley.com/Lori/lori-images/CityLogo.jpg. This shows that the figures at the upper left of the landscape scene are actually conifer trees, not dates. The city's name appears in small print on the map on the map, above a star, presumably the city's location. The area around the star and name is crosshatched [possibly to represent the San Joaquin Valley?].
Ned Smith, 5 June 2005
The website at www.ci.rialto.ca.us shows the seal in a circular format with a thick white outer ring with the words 'CITY OF RIALTO, CALIFORNIA' in black sans-serif block lettering at the top, while at the bottom, in smaller but similar block lettering, are the words 'INCORPORATED NOV. 17, 1912.' The central image depicts
a townscape, with cumulus clouds drifting in a blue sky and with a black jet aircraft taking off in the upper left. The townscape itself is in various shades of green, gray, white, ochre, and burnt sienna, resting upon a green lawn which
occupies the lower fifth of the image. A city slogan in illegible miniscule black lettering appears on this green surface.
Ron Lahav, 2 June 2005
The name and seal of this town recall the Rialto bridge in Venice I suppose.
Jan Mertens, 3 June 2005
The slogan on the seal is probably the city's slogan "A Bridge to Progress." If one looks at the fire department emblem on that same page there is also a slogan beneath the bridge there, and as it is slightly larger than that on the seal, I think it is just barely discernable as that wording. BTW, according to a town history page it is unclear if the city was actually named after the Venetian bridge or was derived from Spanish "rio alto," but in any case somebody in the area built a replica of the famous bridge, and it is the replica which appears on the seal (you will note the absence of any canal or other water ). See www.rialto.k12.ca.us/curriculum/RialtoHistory/EHSRialto/rialto4.html.
Ned Smith, 5 June 2005
The website at www.ci.richmond.ca.us shows a logo consisting of the stylized head of a seabird in dark blue on a white semicircle, with a white triangle linked to a white striation representing the bird's eye and facial markings. The word `Richmond' written in carmine upper and lower case italic script, extends from
the left of the semicircle to what would be the bird's eye.
Ron Lahav, 12 June 2005
The website at www.ci.ridgecrest.ca.us shows no civic heraldry on the actual municipal web site. A city seal appears to be part of the shoulder patch on the uniform of the Ridgecrest Police
www.ci.ridgecrest.ca.us/police.asp?id=56, but it is too indistinct for me to distinguish any details.
Ron Lahav, 12 June 2005
The website at www.ci.rio-vista.ca.us shows the seal in the form of a large circle with two rings, bordered externally and internally in black. The outer circle is quite narrow and is gold in color, with the words `THE CITY OF RIO VISTA, CALIFORNIA' in small black block lettering at the top , and the words and date
`INCORPORATED DEC. 30,1893' similarly written at the bottom. The central image shows on an ultramarine background a black bascule highway bridge positioned fesswise in the center of the image. Above the bridge is a structure of some sort outlined in white and with a gold flame to its left; the white does not show up clearly enough on the ultramarine background color for me to determine what it might be. To the right of the bridge there appears to be a bunch of celery proper, while to the lower right of the bridge there is a drawing of the wheel of a water turbine attached to a shaft. Directly beneath the bascule there is a black line drawing of a fish about to swallow an insect.
Ron Lahav, 12 June 2005
The website at www.cityofripon.org shows the municipal seal, which is available for sale as a lapel pin, is again in a circular format. There is a black outer ring with gold external and internal bordering and text in gold lettering at both the top and bottom of the ring. However the seal itself is in such a small size that it has proved impossible for me to decipher the actual text. The central image is gold, with a map of California in white running diagonally the length of the image from upper left to lower right. To the upper right of the map is a flower of unknown type in lilac. Dividing the entire seal at about the 2/3 mark is a blue ribbon curled at each end around the body of the seal itself., on which are written the words `CITY OF RIPON' in gold block lettering.
Ron Lahav, 12 June 2005
We do not have a City flag. We talked about it a few years ago, but the City Council decided we do not need one. They decided that it was too much money for something that is just for show.
The City did not have a logo for many years. The Council decided that we needed one for our stationery, so we ran a contest in 1995 and the winner received $250.00 in gift certificates from local merchants. We received about 30 entries. All the entries were given to the Council without the artist’s name so that the Council could not be influenced by anything other that the art work. The winner was one of our employees, Sarah Perdichizzi. She is a secretary in our Public Works Department. She used one of her children’s puzzle pieces to draw the outline of the state of California. Ripon has long been a farming community with Almonds being the main crop, so she added the almond blossom. The local farmers wanted the message “Almond Capital of the World” on the logo, so there it is. The date 1945 is when Ripon first became a town recognized by the State of California. This recognition, designating us as a “City of the Sixth Class,” allowed us to received taxes collected by the state. The money helps us provide services to our community. The term “Sixth Class” refers to our population. At that time, our population was less than 2,000. I don’t know how big a town had to be to be “First Class”, but 50 years later, we have a population of about 12,000.
In the same contest, we asked someone to come up with a City slogan. A young man came up with “Responsive - Industrious - Productive - Organized – Neighborly.” You will notice that the first letter of each word spells “RIPON.” He was given
$50.00. The only place we use this slogan is on our newsletter that we mail to our local residents.
Jeanne Hall, Deputy City Clerk, 12 June 2005
The website at http://www.riverbank.org shows the seal in the shape of a vertical ellipse in two parts. The outer ellipse is black with gold bordering both externally and internally. Curving around the top of this ellipse are the words `CITY OF RIVERBANK' in gold sans-serif block lettering , with a small gold dot at the beginning and end of the phrase. Curving around the lower part of the outer ellipse are the word and date `EST. 1922' similarly written. The background color of the central image is blue violet, with an ochre cornucopia striated gold occupying most of the image. In the mouth of the cornucopia is a large cluster of grapes proper and leaved likewise. To the left of the cornucopia is a nearly full wine goblet outlined in white and with the unfilled portion also in white, while the wine itself is purple. To the right of the goblet are two large pieces of cheese in cream with light brown rinds; one of the cheeses appears to be a form of Emmentaler, as holes are clearly distinguished on it. Finally, at the right of the cheese is a diesel railway locomotive in black, gray, and gold. The seal is divided at the 4/5 mark by a ribbon divided into three folds; the ribbon is white outlined in gold and with gold lettering on the central fold; this contains the city motto, `City of Action', written in gold block lettering.
Ron Lahav, 12 June 2005
There is no civic heraldry at the municipal web site, but a seal of some sort appears to be available at
www.dprinc.com/projects/projects_type.cfm?ID=2 . The Rocklin seal is in a standard circular format, with both external and internal bordering in purple (thick externally, thin internally) and a gray background throughout. The outer ring is narrow, and contains the words 'CITY OF ROCKLIN' in purple block lettering at the top; the preposition 'OF' is in smaller lettering than the two words it connects. At the bottom of the outer ring is the date '1893', also in purple. The central image depicts a Victorian-era steam locomotive on track and
roadbed in black; this is positioned fesswise about 3/4 of the the distance on the central image. The loco is impaled by what appears to be a large golden spike of some sort, with a circle at the very top; the base of the circle impinges on the loco. Beneath the loco at the very bottom of the central image and separated by the point of the spike are two sprigs of leaves of indeterminate type separated by the point of the spike.
Ron Lahav, 12 June 2005
At www.rocklinhistory.org/written.asp are links to several histories of Rocklin which describe how the building of the Central Pacific Railroad contributed to the development of Rocklin. A golden railroad spike is a symbol associated with the Central Pacific RR.
Ned Smith, 19 June 2005
The website at www.ci.rohnert-park.ca.us shows the city seal consists of a horizontal ellipse, with an outer ring and a central image similarly shaped. The outer ellipse has a thick black external border, with a thinner black internal one, and the background color of this outer ellipse is white. At its top are the
words 'ROHNERT PARK' in black block lettering in a modified Times New Roman font, with the initial letters of each word somewhat larger than the rest of the word itself. The word 'CALIFORNIA' is similarly written at the bottom of the outer ellipse, while at the 9 o'clock position can be found the numerals '19', and the numerals '62' are similarly found at the 3 o'clock position. The central image consists of a stylized landscape; at the top is a metallic blue sky, pierced by several rays and dotted with cumulus clouds, both in white. The remaining 2/3 of the central image shows a plowed field in metallic green and black, with three green and white trees in the lower left foreground and 2 additional trees in the lower right foreground. Behind the field there is a bank of trees in very dark green, and behind this is a rolling landscape of meadows
in a light green divided by similar dark green tree lines.
Ron Lahav, 24 June 2005
The website at www.palosverdes.com/rhe/flash2htm shows a redwood tree in dark green in front of a three-barred white fence, symbolizing the equestrian interests of the city.
Ron Lahav, 24 June 2005
No civic heraldry on the municipal website.
Ron Lahav, 24 June 2005
The Roseville (Placer County) flag is the city logo (city name and a rose) in blue and red over a fringed white background. The flag can be seen behind the city council at
http://www.roseville.ca.us/images/Council2001.jpg
Dov Gutterman, 20 October 2002
The website at www.roseville.ca.us shows a logo and a seal. The logo consists of the name of the city written in three lines of text, with each line written in a different font. The word 'ROSEVILLE' is written in large stylized blue capital letters, with the letter 'v' being represented as the stem of a rose, with a
purple rose at the top of the letter. What appears to be the municipal seal can be found as the centerpiece of the Roseville Police Department badge, which can be seen at
http://www.theblueline.com/feature/CAroseville.html. In any event, the central image of the police badge features an armed and helmeted Minerva; she is wearing gold vestments trimmed in bister brown, and her sword and shield are similarly colored. Above her is a pale blue sky, with the dates 1854/1904 written in very thin bister; it appears as if Britannia is pointing to them with her upraised right hand. To the right of this martial figure is an agricultural scene, also in gold, with a rayed bister colored sun to the extreme left of the central image. The entire image is encircled by a ring of cable laid rope.
Ron Lahav, 24 June 2005
Continued: California Municipal Symbols S
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