The

city flag The list of city flags lists the flags of cities. Most of the city flags are based on the coat of arms or emblems of its city itself, and city flags can be also used by the coat of arms and emblems on its flag. Most of the city flags are flown o ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

, is not well known although it was adopted by the city on July 1, 1930. The many pieces of the unique flag portray the various elements that made the city itself a success. The flag is one of the few non-quadrilateral flags in use.

Creation of flag

Although

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

was named in 1849, it took almost 100 years for a flag to be created. Mayor D.B. McKay introduced the design to the city's multi-national heritage. In turn he presented the banner to the board of Representatives and recommended that it be adopted as the official flag. On July 1, 1930, the board adopted the flag from its designer F. Grant Whitney.

History and description

“The colors are inspired by the national flags of the immigrants who settled the area:

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

(red, white and blue);

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

(green, white, and red); and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

(red and yellow).” The gold and red striped section is supposed to represent the

flag of Spain The national flag of Spain ( es, Bandera de España), as it is defined in the Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle ...

who had a large part in both

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

’s history with the Spanish exploration. In the flag the state recognized the British contribution to the city with the red, white chevron like stripes that are supposed to represent two of the three aspects that make up the British Union “portions of the Crosses of

St. Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

and St. George” The red, white, and blue along with the stars are a depiction of the country in which Tampa is located, the United States of America who bought the state in 1821 The red, white and blue on the left side of the flag is a representation of the French flag. The tip of the flag, which is red, green, and has a single white star, is a portrayal of the Italian flag. Both countries “had an influence on the culture and heritage” of the city of Tampa and creator Whitney wanted to incorporate the many immigrants who helped the city grow and thrive. “Fort Brooke was established and, in 1834, the Territorial Legislature created Hillsborough County, which is symbolized by a stylized "H"” The letter “H” is creatively disguised and made up of the representations of the flags of France and Spain with the blue line that forms the large “T” which is turned sideways. This “T” is much more visible to the eye and stands for the cities name: Tampa. “The City Seal of Tampa is featured over the white, gold and red stripes. The seal notes that the City of Tampa was organized in 1887. Tampa was incorporated as a village in 1849, as a town in 1855, and as a city in 1887.” With Tampa holding its annual Gasparilla pirate parade, many think the ship in the center of the flag is a reference to pirates, however the ship bearing the three masts with two sails a piece, is surprisingly supposed to be a rendition of the man who helped the more isolated city of Tampa flourish,

Henry B. Plant Henry Bradley Plant (October 27, 1819 – June 23, 1899), was a businessman, entrepreneur, and investor involved with many transportation interests and projects, mostly railroads, in the southeastern United States. He was founder of the Plant Sys ...

. Incorporating Plant's ship, the Mascotte, was important, as “The significant contributions to the development of Florida and Tampa Bay are why Success magazine dubbed Henry Plant “the King of Florida” in 1898.”

Criticism

Since at least 2017, the city of Tampa flag has been criticized and ridiculed, even to the point of making the ranks of "the ugliest city flags on Earth," for “trying too hard”. Another website thinks “This flag would make a great beach towel for tourists or a colorful cape for a Floridian superhero.” Most Tampa natives don't even know they have a flag, and those who do are in favor of having it changed. “Out of the 224 people who had taken a survey on tampaflag.com of last week, 92 percent said they supported changing it.” " The dislike of the flag even has an online petition on change.org calling for a newly designed flag for the growing city of Tampa. Although most are in favor of changing the flag or completely redesigning it there is worry that people who have lived in the Tampa Bay area for generations could be upset to let it go. With all of the history and meaning the flag encapsulates, any new flag will need to be sure to capture both the history and essence of Tampa.

References

{{Flags of cities in the United States Culture of Tampa, Florida Flag controversies in the United States

Flags introduced in 1930 Controversies in Florida