Last modified: 2009-08-01 by rick wyatt
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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:
A description of the colors and the City Seal can be found in the Public Officials Handbook at www.ci.salinas.ca.us/BoardCom/POHandbook.pdf. "The City seal contains the impression of a rising sun over mountains with row crops in the foreground. The City colors are green and gold. Both the City seal and the City colors reflect the 'green gold' of the agricultural industry in this area."
Ron Lahav, 24 June 2005
The website at www.townofsananselmo.org shows the municipal logo consists of a city skyline in olive silhouetted against a dark blue mountain.
Ron Lahav, 3 July 2005
Although the flag of San Bernardino County can already be found on ws, I am sure that I have seen a municipal flag for San Bernardino city as well somewhere, although it does not appear on the city web site. The city does, however, have a multiplicity of seals, including a municipal seal which appears for a moment as a Flash on the Introduction to the Web Site. However, it comes and goes so quickly that I am unable to make out the details at all. The city Public Services Department uses a version of this seal set on a lozenge of four smaller lozenges separated by two white diagonals, with olive on top, gold to the right, dark blue at the bottom, and vermillion to the left. However, the actual image of the municipal seal is so small that I cannot make out the details.
Ron Lahav, 3 July 2005
A photo of the exterior of City Hall shows a flag with what seems to be a yellow field, along with the US and California flags. See www.ci.san-bernardino.ca.us/images/challsmall1.jpg. Too small to pick up any detail. The City Council chambers seem to have only the US and State flags unfortunately, but they do have a large mural version of the seal. See athletics.csusb.edu/media0304/40405volleyball-menbasketball-cityhonor.htm.
Ned Smith, 3 July 2005
The seal has a standard circular format with a narrow outer ring and a central image. The outer ring is gold, with black external and internal bordering and the words 'CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA' written in black sans-serif block lettering around 5/6 of the circumference of the outer ring, and with two minute black dots at the 5 and 7 o-clock positions respectively. The bottom sixth of the outer circle contains the words and date 'FOUNDED IN 1810' similarly written. The central image is colorful, complex, and unusual. In the immediate foreground is a triangle, whose base is formed by an arc of the circumference of the internal border of the outer ring. In the immediate foreground are plowed and
irrigated fields in green and brown, and clever use of perspective leads the eye naturally to a range of gray mountains outlined in black in the far distance, with a golden solar disk just barely visible as it rises over the mountains into
a clear white sky. The apex of the triangle appears to be a tomato proper and leaved proper, with an additional design above the tomato which I cannot discern. To the right of the tomato is a covered wagon such as used by the early settlers of California, with a tan canvas cover over a brown box and pulled by brown horses and traveling along an ocher trail with gray hills in the background. To the left of the wagon, and covering the entire area to the left of the triangle, are desert landscapes in tan, with scattered local desert flora in dark green.
Ron Lahav, 4 July 2005
A photo of the San Bruno council chambers (San Mateo County) shows the city flag is the city logo on a green circle on a fringed white background.
Dov Gutterman, 31 October 2002
The website at www.sanbruno.ca.gov shows the municipal emblem is unusual as it is a combination of a seal within a logo. The logo itself is in a somewhat odd geometrical shape. It is bright yellow with a thin black edging, and 3/4 of the length down is another thin black line, interrupted at the half-way point by the words 'CITY OF' in small stylized black block lettering, with beneath this the words 'SAN BRUNO' in lettering of the same type although considerably larger in size. The seal itself is at the top of the geometrical shape, and is surrounded by a stylized black rope bordure. However, the central image is too small for me to make out the details clearly.
Ron Lahav, 3 July 2005
More commonly known as Ventura, as is reflected in the URL of its web site (http://www.ci.ventura.ca.us ). Although there is an outline form in olive of the municipal seal on the Home
Page of the site, a full color reproduction is available on the Home Page of a local business in Ventura, Joe Berk Photography: www.joeberkphotography.com/san_buena_ventura.html. The background color of the outer ring of the image is black, with a a black external border fimbriated tan and with a thin black and tan fimbriated internal one. The words 'CITY OF SAN BUENAVENTURA' are written in large tan block lettering 2/3 of the way around the outer ring, with two large tan dots at the 4 and 8 o'clock positions, respectively. At the bottom of the outer ring are the words 'Founded 1782' written in similar tan block lettering. The central image is very complex, and consists of a tan network occupying much of the space within the image. Superimposed upon this network is a shield bordered in tan, with a horizontal top, two vertical sides, and a bottom forming a deep chevron. The top of this shield is enlarged so as to include a red Cardinal's beretta and a small picture of someone whom I assume to be Cardinal Buenaventura, for whom the original mission (which later became the city) was named. The shield itself is divided into three major and two minor parts: a flower of some sort and leaves proper at
the upper left, a bear facing sinister with a five-pointed star above it, both in tan and reminiscent of the Golden Bear California State Flag; and within the chevron a drawing of Mission San Buenaventura in tan, with a stylized pine tree
in pale green on a black background to the right of the Mission building. Flanking this bottom image on either side are two vertical red columns.
Ron Lahav, 3 July 2005
The website at www.cityofsandimas.com shows the municipal logo representing the frontier heritage of this city. It consists of a tablet with a domed top, two vertical sides, and a horizontal bottom, with a background color of ocher, with a buff bordure throughout representing a beveled edge, the whole symbolizing a
storefront sign of the Old West. Slightly above the center of the sign is a twelve-spoked wagon wheel in gold outlined in chocolate. Above the wheel, in small blue block lettering in an Old West font are the words 'CITY OF', while below the wheel, in two lines of text, are the words 'SAN DIMAS' in larger blue block lettering, with the initial letters of each word somewhat larger than the remaining letters.
Ron Lahav, 26 July 2005
The website at www.ci.san-jacinto.ca.us shows no civic heraldry.
Ron Lahav, 26 July 2005
The website at www.sanjuancapistrano.org/ shows a very striking seal is in a circular format, maroon on a white background, with identically colored external and internal borders. The top of the outer ring contains the words 'City of San Juan Capistrano' in stylized maroon script; at the 5 and 7 o'clock positions
there are two small maroon dots, and at the bottom of the outer ring the word 'California' is similarly written. The central image depicts the saint with his right hand raised in blessing and with a book under his left arm, posed in front
of the eponymous mission with what appears to be an olive branch peeping over the mission wall. To the lower right of the figure are the word and date 'Founded 1776', and to the left 'Incorporated 1961.' This city is one of the most beautiful cities in the entire US.
Ron Lahav, 30 July 2005
This might have a flag- there is a news story at www.sanjuancapistrano.org/news_detail.asp?ID=226 that starts "San Juan's Flag Flying in Middle East". "A flag that once flew high over San Juan Capistrano City Hall and the state Capital is now a bittersweet reminder to
about 140 marines of the homeland they have left behind."...
I'm not sure if they mean an official municipal flag, or a state or national flag belonging to the city.
Ned Smith, 31 July 2005
The website at www.ci.san-marcos.ca.us shows the city seal is an ellipse in various shades of slate. Above the ellipse is a similarly colored ribbon furled at each end with 'CITY OF SAN MARCOS' written in white block lettering. There is a narrow outer ellipse above the central image, with writing at both the top and
bottom, but the text is too small to read. The central image depicts a public building, perhaps the city hall, with a pond in the immediate foreground, flanked by two large trees, and with a mountainous landscape to the rear.
Ron Lahav, 30 July 2005
The website at www.ci.san-marino.ca.us shows a municipal seal displayed at various points on the web site, but it is far too small to distinguish any details clearly. The city is the home of the Huntington Library, one of the world's great centers for research in the arts and humanities. This city is named after
the same individual who is also the patron of the mini-state on the Italian peninsula.
Ron Lahav, 30 July 2005
A description of the seal for the City of San Marino can be found at
http://www.ci.san-marino.ca.us/about.htm. The description, which I quote from the website:
"The San Marino Seal contains the three summits of Mt. Titano, upon each of which reposes a tower, fortified with walls built from native rock and capped with a bronze plume, all surrounded by a heart-shaped scroll with two roundels
and a lozenge (of unknown significance) at the top. Underneath the left side is a graceful palm frond and underneath the right side, a branch from an orange tree. The crown representing the monarchy on the original was removed and five stars representing the five members of the City's governing body were added. "
A source for a copy of the city seal can be found here: www.laalmanac.com/cities/ci72.htm
Kevin Johnson, 31 July 2005
Scanning the San Mateo municipal web site I came across an image of the municipal seal, which can be found at
www.ci.sanmateo.ca.us/government/index.html. The city seal is in the now familiar circular format but with certain differences, namely that the outer ring is divided into five distinct segments of various sizes by black lines; black also is the color of the external border of the seal itself and of the internal border of the outer ring. This outer ring is bright blue, with the name of the city in large white block letters in the upper portion and the name of the state in slightly smaller block lettering at the bottom. Each word or group of words is in a distinct segment of its own. Within this outer circle, at the 4 and 8 o'clock positions respectively, are two small red five pointed stars. The central image of the seal consists of a large tree proper in the foreground, with visible roots resting on a light green knoll; the branches of the tree are covered by foliage in a similar color. The upper half of the central image consists of a pale blue sky with a stylized yellow sun outlined in black and
with eight black rays of different lengths. Beneath the sky is a stylized seascape in differing shades of blue, with a small sailing boat with red and white sails in the left middle foreground. To the right of the tree is a golden yellow field.
Ron Lahav, 9 October 2005
The website at www.ci.san-pablo.ca.us shows a very well designed city seal in the standard circular format, with the name of the city in large black italic capitals at the top of a rather wide white outer ring. At the bottom of this outer ring is the municipal motto, 'City of New Directions,' in black italic letters using both upper and lower case lettering. The central image consists of a blue sky with white clouds, superimposed upon which is a cornucopia pointing to the upper left in gold with red-violet striations, At the mouth of the cornucopia is a multicolored allegory of agricultural and industrial products typical of the city.
Ron Lahav, 9 October 2005
The website at www.cityofsanrafael.org shows the municipal logo consists of the bell of Mission San Rafael Archangel with the clapper to the lower left of the bell mouth. The municipal name appears to the right of the bell in a standard type face using both upper and lower case letters; this name appears in two rows,
with the upper row being smaller than the lower one.
Ron Lahav, 9 October 2005
The flag of San Ramon shows its emblem, a crow against the sun as it flies over the hilly landscape of San Ramon. The crow was suggested to be the flag because of the street Crow Canyon Blvd, and the quantity of crows which live in
the city. This flag was adopted in 1983 when San Ramon became a city. This flag flies at the park, several shopping centers, and the city hall. I have seen one other variation of this flag. It had the words "Crow Canyon" below the picture in black instead of San Ramon in its robin-blue colors.
Daniel Green, 26 August 2003
[The crow emblem can be seen on the City Council web page, but unfortunately no flag has been located yet - Editor.]
1) There is a flag for the city of San Ramon and it is flown in several places.
2) It is white with most of the elements of the seal at the City Council web page on it in the colors shown, green hills, black crow, yellow-gold sun and "San Ramon" in blue.
3) The wind wouldn't cooperate, but it appears that "California" may not be on the flag below the "San Ramon".
4) The circle around the elements shown in the image does not appear on the flag. What appears in the image is a city seal on a wall.
5) The elements extend the full width of the flag with some clear space at the edges, not just a seal in the center.
Michael P. Smuda, 2 September 2003
Thousand Oaks, California, is an exurb of Los Angeles located northwest of the city in Ventura County. It is one of the wealthiest communities in California and indeed in the United States, with many personalities in the worlds of entertainment and sports making their homes there. The City Clerk, Ms Linda Lawrence, has informed me that a proposal for a municipal flag was put forward some years ago, but no action has ever been taken on the matter. The flag design would have consisted of a dark blue rectangle depicting the municipal seal.
Ron Lahav, 18 January 2009
I saw a documentary recently which included an interview with the mayor of of
the town of Willits, north of San Francisco, in front of its flag: white, ~3:5,
with a thin blue border and the city seal (~3/5 of height) in its center. A city
seal appears at http://www.willits.org, but
does not particularly resemble the one I saw on the flag, which had a blue
background - might be a different version, though.
Eugene Ipavec, 28
February 2009
