![California state coat of arms (illustrated, 1876)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/California_state_coat_of_arms_%28illustrated%2C_1876%29.jpg)
The Great Seal of the State of California was adopted at the
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
Constitutional Convention of 1849 and has undergone minor design changes since then, the last being the standardization of the seal in 1937. The seal shows
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
in
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, the goddess of wisdom and war, because she was born an adult, and California was never a territory; a
California grizzly bear
The California grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos californicus'') is an extinct population or subspecies of the brown bear, generally known (together with other North American brown bear populations) as the grizzly bear. "Grizzly" could have meant "gri ...
, the official state animal, feeding on
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...
vines, representing California's
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
production; a sheaf of grain, representing
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
; a miner, representing the
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
and the
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
industry; and sailing ships, representing the state's economic power. The word ''
Eureka
Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
'' ( in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
), meaning "I have found it", is the California
state motto
Most of the United States' 50 states have a state motto, as do the District of Columbia and 3 of its territories. A motto is a phrase intended to formally describe the general motivation or intention of an organization. State mottos ca ...
.
The original design of the seal was by U.S. Army major
Robert S. Garnett
Robert Selden Garnett (December 16, 1819 – July 13, 1861) was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army until the American Civil War, when he became a Confederate States Army brigadier general. He was the first general offi ...
and engraved by
Albert Kuner. However, because of the friction then in existence between the military and civil authorities, Garnett was unwilling to introduce the design to the constitutional convention, so convention clerk
Caleb Lyon
Caleb Lyon (December 7, 1822 – September 8, 1875) was Governor of Idaho Territory from 1864 to 1865 during the last half of the American Civil War.
Biography
Caleb Lyon was the son of Marietta Henrietta Dupont (1788–1869) and Caleb Lyon ...
introduced it as his own design, with Garnett's approval. Garnett later became the first general to be killed in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, where he served as a
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
.
Overview
Legal definition
The legal definition of the Great Seal of the State of California is found in the
California Government Code
The California Codes are 29 legal codes enacted by the California State Legislature, which together form the general statutory law of California. The official Codes are maintained by the California Office of Legislative Counsel for the Legislature ...
, Sections 399–405.
Original 1849 description
The geography of the Seal
Although the waters were described in 1849 as being "of the Sacramento" and the mountains in the background as being "the snow-clad peaks of the Sierra Nevada", other, very early descriptions referred to the body of water as
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
. In a letter to Lyon dated two days before the seal was approved by the convention, Garnett described the landscape as a "view of the Bay of San Francisco and its vessels", and in 1899, Garnett's brother referred to the mountain as
Mount Diablo
Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton, California, Clayton and northeast of Danville, Califo ...
,
[Louis A. Garnett, "The True Story of the Origin of the Great Seal of the State of California", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', December 10, 1899, 10] supports Robert's view, if Minerva is placed in San Francisco and 'up' is toward the east.
In 1928, due to the number of incorrect details that had appeared in the seal over the years, with the earliest being pointed out as in 1914
["State Is Full of Great Seals – All Are Wrong, Artist Finds", ''San Francisco Examiner'', April 9, 1914, 8]), state printer Carroll H. Smith was authorized to prepare a new and correct seal. This seal was drawn by
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
heraldic artist Marc J. Rowe who, among other corrections, narrowed the growing break in the mountains so that it appeared to be the Sacramento River, "fringed by snow-capped Sierra, and not an arm of San Francisco Bay, as the old seal made it appear". San Franciscans considered this change to be "a slight on their city in favor of Los Angeles". His design was not adopted as the official seal,
[J. N. Bowman, "The Great Seal of California", ''California Blue Book'' (Sacramento: State Printing Office, 1950), 167] although it was used by the State Printing Office. Nine years later, the 1937 standardized seal once again featured a widened gap of
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by th ...
proportions, although it did keep Rowe's snow-capped Sierra Nevada that had replaced the barren foothills of previous editions of the seal. Both features have stayed in the official seal.
The 1937 standardization came about when state employees, wishing to print the seal on blotters for the
State Fair
A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...
, could not find any official design of the seal. This prompted a new law (
Statutes of California, 1937, chapter 380), which "established for the first time a definite pictured design with which the master die was 'substantially' to conform, and at the same time established the legality of all previous seals which were essentially the same as this one."
The full color version, accepted as official, was created in 1978 by Jane Van Doren, Graphic Artist for the California State Printing Office (now the California Office of State Publishing). The location of the original painting is unknown.
Popular Beliefs and Urban Legends
Depiction of Fort Point
In the 1937 standardized seal there is a building on the far left rear hill that has been interpreted in a variety of ways. The building, along with the break in the mountains, may have been added to give San Francisco Bay a stronger claim on its location being the landscape portrayed in the seal. This building first appeared in unofficial versions of the seal as early as 1875, and in most of these, the building was clearly meant to represent
Fort Point in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
Interpretations as Fort Point
File:Fort Point, San Francisco, circa 1888 (14680737191).jpg, A circa 1888 image of Fort Point for comparison with representations of the fort on the following renditions of the Seal of California
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1875,_Grafton_Tyler_Brown_(1841-1918).jpg, An 1875 image from a sample book by San Francisco lithographer Grafton Tyler Brown
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1886,_California_State_Government_Executive_Department_Letterhead.jpg, California State Letterhead (1886): Printed by a San Francisco lithographer
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 1894, F. Happersberger (1859-1932), James Lick Pioneer Monument, Civic Center, San Francisco, California.jpg, James Lick Pioneer Monument, San Francisco (1894)
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 1894, San Francisco 1894 Midwinter Fair So-Called Dollar HK-249 Reverse.jpg, So-called Dollar HK-249: Issued for the 1894 Midwinter Fair held in San Francisco. Notice the lighthouse and flagpole which appear in the circa 1888 image of the actual fort.
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1895,_The_California_Cigar_Box_Label.jpg, 1895 cigar box label from an Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
manufacturer
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), ca. 1898, Spanish American War Flag, California State Archives, Sacramento.jpg, Spanish–American War flag at the California State Archives, Sacramento (c. 1898): Given to American soldiers on their way to the Philippines via the Presidio in San Francisco
However, the structure was given an apparent dome in the 1895 edition of the ''California Blue Book'',
[''California Blue Book'' (Sacramento: State Printing Office, 1895), 299] and it was in this configuration that the building appeared in the 1937 standardization of the official seal. Fort Point has no dome, and it is unknown what building the 1895 artist was attempting to portray. Two years later, Harold F. Wilson, in his interpretation created for the old State Building in Los Angeles (now located inside the Ronald Reagan State Building in that city), retained the dome.
["State Building Entry Completed – Seal of California in Bronze Laid in $30,000 Portal Walk", ''Los Angeles Times'', June 20, 1939, 8] In 1952, the structure, again with dome, was cast in bronze in the large seal at the west steps of the
California State Capitol
The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, made up of the Assembly and the Senate, al ...
in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
.
Versions of the Building with a Dome
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), taken from the 1895 edition of the California Blue Book.jpg, California Blue Book (1895). The building is identical here to the way it appears in the 1937 standardized seal.
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 1939, Harold F. Wilson, Ronald Reagan State Building, Los Angeles, California.jpg, Ronald Reagan State Building, Los Angeles (1939)
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 1952, West Entrance of California State Capitol, Sacramento.jpg, On the west steps of the California State Capitol, Sacramento (1952)
There is a widespread rumor that the building in the seal found in front of the State Capitol had never appeared in any previous incarnation of the seal, and was meant to represent the chapel at
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County.
Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...
. The rumor states it was added as a "signature" of the prison inmates who cast it, as their alleged request to add their actual signatures was supposedly refused. The unsanctioned addition, so the story goes, was not noticed until it was too late to do anything about it, and so was left as is. Although this 3,400 pound, nearly ten foot wide seal was created in the foundry at San Quentin, the building depicted is not the chapel. If the building is taken as San Quentin and if the break in the mountains is taken to be the Golden Gate, then the view must be of the San Francisco Bay Area, looking from east to west. That would the building on the wrong side of the Gate to be San Quentin. No building in this form, including the chapel, has ever existed at San Quentin. The building first appeared in artistic renditions of the seal as early as 1875, decades before this seal was cast in 1952, and was officially added in 1937. The configuration of the building on this seal is very similar to its appearance in the 1937 standardization, which itself was based on the 1895 ''Blue Book'' rendition. Four detailed, post-1952 accounts of the seal make no mention of the rumor. One of those, a 1959 newspaper article written more than seven years after the placement of the seal, reported that "
e only criticism of the convicts' rendition of the seal is that they made the nose of
inervatoo straight" and that the work "turned out so well it was planned to have the governor,
Earl Warren
Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
, write the convicts commendations."
The source of this story is unknown, although it is possibly related to the large seal attached to the Resources Building in downtown Sacramento, placed in 1964, four years before the earliest known reference to the rumor in 1968. This seal features what appears to be two structures combined into one. The right half somewhat resembles the front gates of San Quentin State Prison has been said to resemble
Folsom State Prison
Folsom State Prison (FSP) is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, U.S., approximately northeast of the state capital of Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabi ...
's Greystone Chapel. It is unknown why the artist chose this depiction. If the artist did mean for the building to be San Quentin and Folsom prisons, the rumor being mistakenly attached to the seal in front of the Capitol may have stemmed from a confusion of the two seals, which are blocks away from each other. A postcard dated 2000 shows an image of the State Capitol at night, with an inset image of the seal. The seal used is the one on the Resources Building. The official color scheme for the seal (e.g., "the spear of Minerva shall be Oakwood,
Cable No. 70094 and the tip white"), passed in 1967—thirty years after the structure was officially added—does not mention the building.
Other interpretations of the building
Because there is no official designation of the identity of the building, artists have interpreted the building in a number of ways.
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 1910, San Mateo County History Museum, Redwood City, California.jpg, San Mateo County History Museum
The San Mateo County History Museum is located in downtown Redwood City, California. Housed inside the former San Mateo County Courthouse built in 1910, the museum showcases the rich history of San Mateo County and the surrounding area. Operations ...
, Redwood City (1910)
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 1925, Veteran's Welfare Bond.jpg, Veteran's Welfare Bond (1925): Here the building looks somewhat like the old State Capitol
This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...
in Benicia
Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...
.
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1915,_San_Diego_Museum_of_Art,_Balboa_Park,_San_Diego.jpg, Above the entrance to the San Diego Museum of Art
The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Galler ...
in Balboa Park, this 1926 seal places the building behind Minerva.
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 1928 (Artistic Rendition), Room 500, Library and Courts I, Sacramento, California.jpg, Room 500, Library and Courts I, Sacramento (c. 1928)
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 1928, Marc Rowe.jpg, Marc J. Rowe's redesign (1928)
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1928,_Berkeley_Veterans_Memorial_Building.jpg, Berkeley Veterans Memorial Building (1928)
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_ca._1921-1931,_California_Division_of_Motor_Vehicles_Inspector's_Badge_No._4,_CHP_Museum,_West_Sacramento.jpg, Division of Motor Vehicles inspector's badge (c. 1921–1931) in the collection of the CHP Museum in West Sacramento
West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. It is a fast-growing community; the ...
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1934,_Helms_Bakery,_Culver_City,_California.jpg, The reproduction of the medal the Los Angeles-based Helms Bakery won in 1934, showing a building that looks like the Los Angeles Harbor Light
Los Angeles Harbor Light, also known as Angels Gate Light, is a lighthouse in California, United States, at San Pedro Breakwater in Los Angeles Harbor, California. The lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is l ...
, which may explain the location of the structure on an island, away from its usual spot on the mainland, similar to the light house
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 1937, Lucile Lloyd Mural, Room 4203, California State Capitol, Sacramento.jpg, Lucile Lloyd Mural in Room 4203, California State Capitol, Sacramento (1937)
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1950,_O.C._Malmquist_Panels,_California_State_Capitol,_Sacramento.jpg, East Entrance, California State Capitol, Sacramento (1950): Here in the O. C. Malmquist panels, the building takes on more of a Spanish mission look, exchanging the dome for a similarly-shaped curved roof line.
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1954,_State_Personnel_Board,_Sacramento,_California.jpg, State Personnel Board, Sacramento (1954): After more than fifty years, is this interpretation meant to be a return to Fort Point? Despite the difference in design from the previous image, this seal was also created by O. C. Malmquist.
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_ca._1956,_California_State_Archives_Reference_Desk,_Sacramento.jpg, California State Archives, Sacramento (c. 1956): Another possible throwback to Fort Point?
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail_-_No_Building),_1960,_1304_O_Street,_Sacramento,_California.jpg, 1304 O Street, Sacramento (1960): Many seals found on state buildings from approximately 1960-1980 do not show the building, which might explain why the 1967 official color scheme makes no mention of it.
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1966,_Work_of_Mrs._Pine_L._Eisfeller,_California_State_Archives,_Sacramento,_California.jpg, California State Archives, Sacramento (1966): Artist Mrs. Pine L. Eisfeller used 87,000 tiny beads to create this seal.
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1998,_Elihu_M._Harris_State_Building,_Oakland,_California.jpg, Elihu M. Harris State Building, Oakland (1998): Although this example is from twenty years later, this style of building had been in use as early as 1978.
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1989,_Vietnam_Memorial,_Capitol_Park,_Sacramento,_California.jpg, Vietnam Memorial, Capitol Park, Sacramento (1988)
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_1998,_Riverside_Family_Law_Court,_Downtown_Riverside,_California.jpg, Family Law Court, downtown Riverside (1998): The artist of this seal may have based his interpretation of the building on the Peace Tower found on Mount Rubidoux
Mount Rubidoux is a mountain just west of downtown in the city of Riverside, California, United States, that has been designated a city park and landmark. The mountain was once a popular Southern California tourist destination and is still the s ...
, a local Riverside landmark.
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_Hiram_Johnson_State_Building_Auditorium,_Civic_Center,_San_Francisco,_California.jpg, Hiram Johnson State Building, San Francisco (c. 1998): The building on this seal, in the building's auditorium, looks somewhat like one of the city's famous painted ladies
In American architecture, painted ladies are Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings repainted, starting in the 1960s, in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details. The term was first used for San Francisco ...
Victorian homes.
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 1999, Governor's Office, California State Capitol, Sacramento.jpg, Governor's Office Reception Area Carpet, California State Capitol, Sacramento (c. 1999)
File:Seal of California (Building Detail), 2004, CalTrans District 7 HQ, Los Angeles, California.jpg, CalTrans District 7 HQ, Los Angeles (2004): Another unusual interpretation
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_Unknown_Date,_BF_Sisk_Courthouse,_Fresno,_California.jpg, B. F. Sisk Courthouse, Fresno (c. 2010)
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_Unknown_Date,_Department_of_Motor_Vehicles,_First_Avenue,_Sacramento,_California.jpg, DMV, First Avenue, Sacramento (Present day two-tone)
File:Seal_of_California_(Building_Detail),_Department_of_Education,_Sacramento,_California.jpg, Department of Education, Sacramento (Present day full color): The building has taken on more of a tower rather than a dome.
Conflation with County Seal
Another rumor associated with the Great Seal of the State of California is that it once featured a cross which had since been removed. The source of this story is most likely a confusion of the state seal and its supposed chapel with the
Seal of Los Angeles County and its crossless view of
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel ( es, Misión de San Gabriel Arcángel) is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September ...
. This county seal did include a cross from its creation in 1957 until 2004, when a threatened lawsuit by the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
encouraged the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
History
On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their first ...
to remove the cross and make other design changes to the seal. (A similar lawsuit earlier in the year led to the removal of a cross from the seal of the city of
Redlands.) The mistaken idea that there had once been a cross on the state itself seal quickly spread, appearing as near to Los Angeles as
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
and as far away as
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
before the county seal had been officially changed.
The steam vessel
The real-life identity of the steam vessel, whether actual or not, shown at the far left of the seal is a subject of debate and other urban legends.
In 2004, the
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...
passe
Assembly Concurrent Resolution 131 authored by
Dave Cox
David E. Cox (February 20, 1938 – July 13, 2010) was an American politician from Holdenville, Oklahoma. A Republican, he served as a California State Senator, representing the 1st district from December 2004 until his death in July 2010, and ...
. ACR 131 renamed part of
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...
in
Sacramento County
Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854.
Sacramento County is the ...
in honor of multiethnic California pioneer
William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. It read, in part: "WHEREAS, In 1847, William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. captained the first and only steamship in California prior to the
Gold Rush of 1848, the ''Sitka''. His maiden steam voyage up the Sacramento River is immortalized on the California State Seal and recognizes his vision for increased maritime transportation of California's agricultural products to world markets." A vessel of thirty-seven feet length, nine feet breadth of beam, and eighteen inch draw, for her trial voyage on San Francisco Bay a very large passenger was repeatedly warned not to stir from his "post of honor immediately over the boiler," and on her only voyage to Sacramento in November/December 1847 it was reported that the baby of one of her passengers needed to be passed around to keep the "crank" vessel trim. Her career as a steam vessel was short-lived, as she sank at anchorage in February of the next year during a gale in San Francisco. "Thus perished the first steamer on the Bay, a mere toy, and a most dangerous one too," reported San Francisco's ''
Californian'', "Should she be resuscitated by the owner we sincerely hope that none of our citizens will trust themselves with a passage in her beyond the 'flat' that she now rests upon." The pioneering and enterprising Leidesdorff did indeed have her raised and refitted as a schooner, the ''Rainbow'', and she continued to run on the Sacramento River after the discovery of gold.
In his 2001 book, ''Maritime Tragedies on the
Santa Barbara Channel
The Santa Barbara Channel is a portion of the Southern California Bight and separates the mainland of California from the northern Channel Islands. It is generally south of the city of Santa Barbara, and west of the Oxnard Plain in Ventura Count ...
'', Justin Ruhge suggested that, "When Major Garnett laid out the seal, he included a number of sailing ships and on the middle left side of the seal he also drew in a steam
bark. It is likely that this is the U.S.S. ''Edith''. The ship in the drawing is a steamer without side wheels. At that time only the U.S.S. ''Edith'' was such a ship. The only other steamer on the west coast at that time was the much larger steamer
''California'' that was driven by side wheels." The
USS ''Edith'', a
screw steamer
A screw steamer or screw steamship is an old term for a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine, using one or more propellers (also known as ''screws'') to propel it through the water. Such a ship was also known as an "iron screw steam shi ...
, was sent from San Francisco Bay to
Santa Barbara and
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
in August 1849 to pick up the delegates for the upcoming constitutional convention. On the second day out, the ''Edith'' ran aground in a heavy fog at about 10 p.m. south of Point Sal, at the north end of what would become
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to:
* Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name
* USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in K ...
. There was no loss of life and the captain and crew were later exonerated by a
Court of Inquiry, but the ship and her cargo had to be abandoned. Garnett, a passenger, was left in charge of the salvage efforts. Sam Pollard reported that "a few days after the wreck
arnettcame to
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...
and was my guest for two weeks ... and showed me the work he was doing on
he State Sealin my store at San Luis Obispo." Leidesdorff's ''Sitka'' was a sidewheeler as well.
The number of stars and the Conrad Murray trial
When live television coverage of the
Conrad Murray trial
''People v. Murray'' (''The People of the State of California v. Conrad Robert Murray'') was the American criminal trial of Michael Jackson's personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter for Death of Michae ...
of 2011 went to break, a seal, most likely located in the courthouse where the trial took place, was shown. It was soon discovered that this seal had thirty-two stars instead of the proper thirty-one. This error was interpreted by some as an intentional clue that the trial was a hoax,
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
was still alive, and had faked his own death. However, seals found in other government buildings have been known to contain errors: a thirty-eight star seal was on display at the San Diego County courthouse from 1889 until its demolition in 1959—seventy years—and the seal sculpted into the
tympanum of the 1928
Stanley Mosk Library and Courts I building in Sacramento, where the
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
sits while in the capital, shows twenty-one stars. Within the California State Capitol itself, the seals carved into the secretary's desk on the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
floor and the clerk's desk on the
Assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
floor, both in use since 1870, contain only thirteen stars. Twenty-nine star seals are attached to the
B. F. Sisk Courthouse in Fresno, the Senator
Alfred E. Alquist State Building in San Jose, the Justice
Joseph A. Rattigan State Building in Santa Rosa, and the Van Nuys State Office Building in Van Nuys.
An incorrect number of stars had been a widespread problem for some time; "Numerous reproductions of the seal are found in well-known books and other widely circulated printed matter which show thirty-two stars instead of thirty-one", wrote the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' in 1937. In 1914, seals were found to have as few as eleven, and as many as thirty-eight, stars.
A version of the seal showing thirty-eight stars appeared on the title page of the 1887, 1889, 1893, 1895 (the 1895 edition also showed a thirty-two star on page 299
), and 1899 editions of the ''California Blue Book'', a publication of the Office of the Secretary of State, who is the custodian of the Great Seal. No seal appeared on the title page of the 1903 or 1907 editions. A thirty-one star seal was used in the 1909 edition, but the publication went back to thirty-eight stars in 1911 and 1915, then settled on thirty-one in 1924.
Various numbers of stars on various seals
File:Seal_of_California,_ca._1870,_Desk_of_the_Secretary_of_the_Senate,_Senate_Chamber,_California_State_Capitol,_Sacramento.jpg, Thirteen star seal, Senate Secretary's Desk, California State Capitol, Sacramento
File:Seal_of_California,_ca._1928,_detail_from_the_tympanum_of_the_Stanley_Mosk_Library_and_Courts_Building,_Sacramento,_California.jpg, Twenty-one star seal, Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building, Sacramento
File:Seal of California, Hiram Johnson State Building Auditorium, Civic Center, San Francisco, California.jpg, Twenty-six star seal, Hiram Johnson State Building auditorium, San Francisco
File:Governor_Arnold_Schwarzenegger's_Official_Portrait_(Governor's_Seal_Detail),_Gottfried_Helnwein.jpg, Twenty-nine star California Governor's Seal, which should have thirty-one, as the state seal does, California State Capitol, Sacramento
File:US-NBN-CA-state seal detail (Series 1882BB reverse) proof.jpg, Twenty-nine star seal on the reverse of a Series 1882BB National Bank Note
File:Seal_of_California,_Unknown_Date,_B.F._Sisk_Courthouse,_Fresno,_California.jpg, Twenty-nine star seal on the B.F. Sisk Courthouse in Fresno
File:Seal_of_California,_1895,_from_the_California_Blue_Book,_page_299.jpg, Thirty-two star seal, 1895 ''California Blue Book'', page 299
File:Seal_of_California,_1915,_San_Diego_Museum_of_Art,_Balboa_Park,_San_Diego.jpg, Thirty-three star seal above the entrance to the 1926 San Diego Museum of Art
The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Galler ...
in Balboa Park
File:Seal_of_California,_1895,_California_Blue_Book,_Title_Page.jpg, Thirty-eight star seal, 1895 ''California Blue Book'', title page
File:Seal of California, John Mallon, 1889, San Diego Superior Court.jpg, Thirty-eight star seal, 1889 San Diego County courthouse
Controversies and other issues
Vallejo's, Lyon's, and Garnett's roles in the creation of the Seal
During the 1849 Constitutional Convention debate on the design of the seal, the bear was added to satisfy Major J.R. Snyder and the men of the
Bear Flag Revolt. This addition was objected to by native
Californio
Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the trans ...
, former head of the Mexican military in California, but a friend of the United States. He introduced an amendment to remove the bear, or, if it were to remain, that it be held fast by a
vaquero
The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...
's lasso. The amendment failed.
In February 1850, the
''Daily Alta California'' of San Francisco accused Lyon of taking the $1000 appropriated to him by the convention for the purpose of securing a die and press, but giving a marred design, a die sunk too shallow, and an insufficiently powerful press for the job in return. The editorial continued that Lyon "received his money out of the civil fund, and is now conveying it to the sylvan retreats of
Lyonsdale" and quite vehemently stated that Lyon had "no right or title to the honor of either designing or executing the seal any more than the Kha
of Tartary" while still protecting the anonymity of Garnett. However, the fact that Garnett was chiefly responsible for the design was known by at least one observer of the convention at the time and generally known no later than December 1849.
Controversy arose again in 1899 with an article in the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' that claimed that Garnett's design was not original, but in fact based upon the seal of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Order of Odd ...
' California Lodge No. 1, with a few changes. This article was soon followed by a defense of the originality of the design written by Major Garnett's brother, Louis A. Garnett, who claimed that the timing of the creation of and differences between the two seals made it impossible for the state seal to have been based on the lodge seal.
Despite this, the Grand Lodge of California continues to make this claim, and an I.O.O.F. historian has suggested that perhaps Garnett in fact designed both seals.
Contention within the state government over the use and design of the Seal
In 1855, conflict arose over the seal between Governor
John Bigler
John Bigler (January 8, 1805November 29, 1871) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat. A Democrat, he served as the third governor of California from 1852 to 1856 and was the first California governor to complete an entire term in office, ...
and the Secretary of State
James W. Denver. Denver, who had been elected to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
(and in whose honor the city of
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, was named), left for
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
on October 5, but his resignation was not effective until November 5. Bigler asked for an immediate resignation and threatened to declare the office vacant and appoint a new Secretary of State if this request was refused. In the same letter, he also requested that the Great Seal be kept in the Governor's Office. Denver refused the request, as it would be impossible for him to fulfill his duties without it, and cited the fact that the seal had always been kept in the possession of the Secretary of State. On October 6, Bigler appointed his private secretary, C.H. Hempstead, to the office, and, accompanied by two witnesses, went to the office of the Secretary of State to have the appointment certified. Denver's deputy refused to certify, as he argued that the office would not be vacated until November 5, the effective date of Denver's resignation. It was not until that date that Hempstead's appointment was finally certified.
In 1958, a disagreement arose between Secretary of State Frank M. Jordan and
State Architect
Many national governments and states have a public official titled the state architect or government architect. The specific duties and areas of responsibility of state architects vary, but they generally involve responsibility for the design and ...
Anson Boyd over the design of the seal being used on state buildings in Sacramento. One seal showed the
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...
crossing over the gap in the mountains, and another spelled "Eureka" in Greek letters. Assistant State Architect P.T. Poage explained that the Division of Architecture "had considered making a model of the seal" in order to "keep the architects from making improvements." Jordan responded by promising to "sponsor legislation in 1959 to provide greater protection on use of the seal."
Symbols in the Seal and the Seal as a symbol
A few days after the
Symbionese Liberation Army
The United Federated Forces of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was a small, American far-left organization active between 1973 and 1975; it claimed to be a vanguard movement. The FBI and American law enforcement considered the SLA to be the ...
's
Hibernia Bank robbery in San Francisco of April 15, 1974, an
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
wire photo and caption of the bronze seal on the west steps of the State Capitol showed a detail of Minerva's shield. On the shield appeared the head of
Medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...
, with seven snakes for hair. The seven-headed cobra, the caption pointed out, was the symbol of the SLA. In 1994, after seeing Minerva and Medusa on the bronze seal at the west steps of the State Capitol, Pastor Margo Brown called it "an affront to women and Christian faith." "I was shocked and amazed to see a woman
inervain a man's uniform," the ''
Sacramento Bee
''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...
'' reported her saying, "And there was a picture of Medusa with snakes on her head. I'm very proud of my gender and women need to be portrayed in a better light." She led a crusade at the Capitol to call for a redesign of the seal, but the seal remains unchanged.
Other protests on the Capitol steps have used the seal as a rallying point: in 1960, a group picketing the execution of
Caryl Chessman
Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted robber, kidnapper and serial rapist who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was charged with 17 counts a ...
gathered around the seal and said, "blame our leaders," in 1967 signs reading "I Protest" and "Thou Shalt Not Kill" were left on the seal to protest the execution of
Aaron Mitchell, later that year a black casket representing "the living dead farm worker" was the centerpiece of a "funeral" march and placed atop the seal for an all-night vigil, and in 1990 the seal was marked with handprints of red paint by members of
ACT UP
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...
, protesting possible state health care cuts.
Errors in the Seal
An early 1900s envelope, reportedly sent by the state to a newspaper editor, bore a copy of the seal missing the bear.
In 1982, after a year-long probe, a $300,000-plus counterfeiting ring was busted in Los Angeles by
Department of Motor Vehicles agents. The counterfeiters had been producing false
pink slips and other identity papers using a fraudulent seal. The mistake the counterfeiters made that first tipped off investigators was the misspelling of "Seal" as "Seat." The possibility of the use of fraudulent seals for unscrupulous gain had been discussed in the press as early as 1878.
This was followed in 1988 by the discovery that on a number of documents printed by the state printing office, Minerva's face had taken on the look of
Snoopy
Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. He can also be found in all of the ''Peanuts'' films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of the most recog ...
, the beagle of ''
Peanuts
''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...
'' cartoon fame. The error was first discovered in the
Department of Corrections
In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and su ...
newsletter, printed by prison labor, and so it was first suspected to be a prank by the inmates. It was later revealed that the source of the error was a worn printing plate, and so was not intentional.
While most errors on the seal are unintentional, at least one was done "on porpoise": the staff of Assemblyman
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
once ordered a birthday cake for their boss with a California seal on it, but it was "the kind that has flippers, swims in the ocean and eats fish."
Examples of the Seal
Sacramento
The seal can be seen in its various incarnations near the entrances of a number of state buildings in downtown Sacramento, including the State Capitol (as well as several inside of the Capitol, including an 1854 carving and a 1908 stained glass "sky" light), Stanley Mosk Library and Courts I (within the
tympanum at 914
Capitol Mall
The Capitol Mall or Capitol Mall Boulevard is a major street and landscaped parkway in the state capital city of Sacramento, California. It connects the city of West Sacramento in Yolo County to Downtown Sacramento. Capitol Mall begins at the ...
), Department of Rehabilitation (721 Capitol Mall, not to be confused the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation),
State Personnel Board (801 Capitol Mall),
Employment Development Department
In California, the Employment Development Department (EDD) is a department of government that administers the Unemployment Insurance (UI), Disability Insurance (DI), and Paid Family Leave (PFL) programs. The department also provides employment ...
(722/800 Capitol Mall),
Resources Agency (1416 Ninth Street),
Secretary of State (1500 Eleventh Street),
CalTrans
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
(1121 O Street),
Office of the State Fire Marshal (1131 S Street), and the
Department of Motor Vehicles (2415 First Avenue). A hand-painted seal which used to be on display at the old Oakland State Building (1111 Jackson Street) until its closure following the
Loma Prieta earthquake
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...
of 1989 can today be seen just within the front entrance of the state building at 1304 O Street, Sacramento. In
West Sacramento
West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. It is a fast-growing community; the ...
, on the opposite shore of the
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–S ...
from
Old Sacramento
Old Sacramento State Historic Park occupies around one third of the property within the Old Sacramento Historic District of Sacramento, California. The Old Sacramento Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District. The Historic ...
, near the entrance to the headquarters of the
California Department of General Services
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...
in the distinctive
Ziggurat building
A ziggurat (; Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, Akkadian: ', D-stem of ' 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew ''zaqar'' (זָקַר) 'protrude') is a type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia. It ha ...
, is another seal. Near the base of the
James W. Marshall
James Wilson Marshall (October 8, 1810 – August 10, 1885) was an American carpenter and sawmill operator, who on January 24, 1848 reported the finding of gold at Coloma, California, a small settlement on the American River about 36 miles no ...
monument at
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is a state park of California, United States, marking the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in 1848, sparking the California Gold Rush. The park grounds include much of the histo ...
in nearby
Coloma, can be found an artistic rendition of the seal from 1890.
A selection of seals found around Sacramento
File:Seal_of_California,_1908,_Stained_Glass,_California_State_Capitol,_Sacramento.jpg, 1908 "sky" light seal in the California State Capitol
File:Seal_of_California,_1964,_Resources_Agency_Building,_Sacramento,_California.jpg, 1964 seal (one of two) on display at the Resources Agency Building
File:MARSHALL GOLD DISCOVERY STATE HISTORICAL PARK, EL DORADO COUNTY.jpg, The James W. Marshall monument in Coloma
San Francisco Bay Area
It can also be seen in mosaic on the second floor of
San Francisco's Ferry Building, which opened in 1898. Three unusual seals can be seen at the
San Francisco Civic Center
The Civic Center in San Francisco, California, is an area located a few blocks north of the intersection of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue that contains many of the city's largest government and cultural institutions. It has two large plazas ( ...
. The 1894
James Lick
James Lick (August 25, 1796 – October 1, 1876) was an American real estate investor, carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences. The wealthiest man in California at the time of his death, Lick left the majority of his es ...
Pioneer Monument features a seal where Minerva and the bear have "escaped" the seal and are sculpted in the round, leaving the remaining elements on Minerva's shield in the space normally occupied only by the face of Medusa. So large that it was shipped via oyster shell
barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
from the artists' studio (a dairy barn) in
Petaluma
Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census.
Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village nam ...
, a 1500-pound
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
seal hangs above the entrance to the
California Public Utilities Commission
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC or PUC) is a regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies. In additi ...
building. A bright golden
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
is on display in the auditorium of the
Hiram Johnson
Hiram Warren Johnson (September 2, 1866August 6, 1945) was an American attorney and politician who served as the Governor of California, 23rd governor of California from 1911 to 1917. Johnson achieved national prominence in the early 20th century ...
State Building. There are two more, less spectacularly colored seals at the north and south entrances to that building. Joined by the seals of other western states, the seal of California hangs above one of the elevators in the lobby of the
Hearst Building at
Third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
and
Market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
streets. A seal can also be found at Metropolitan Barber Shop, at 1018 Bush Street.
Around the Bay Area, other seals can be found at the
Native Sons of the Golden West
The Native Sons of the Golden West is a fraternal service organization founded in the U.S. state of California in 1875, dedicated to historic preservation, documentation of historic structures and places in the state, the placement of historic p ...
Parlor No. 62 in
Napa (a six-foot wide stained glass), the historic
plaza
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
in
Sonoma on the
1846 Bear Flag Revolt monument (1914), the
Elihu M Harris State Office Building
The Elihu M. Harris State Office Building is a high-rise located in downtown Oakland, California. It has 22 stories and stands at 328 feet (100 m) tall. The building is named for Elihu Harris, a former mayor of Oakland who is still living.
Offic ...
in
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, the
San Mateo County
San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...
History Museum in
Redwood City
Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a po ...
(a mosaic dating to 1910), the
Circle of Palms Plaza in
San Jose, the site of California's first state capitol, and in front of
Colton Hall
Colton Hall is a government building and museum in Monterey, California, United States. It was built in 1847-49 by Walter Colton, who arrived in Monterey as the chaplain on Commodore Robert F. Stockton's vessel. He remained and was named as Mont ...
in
Monterey
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...
, the site of the 1849 Constitutional Convention. Nearby is a 1957 monument to Robert S. Garnett which includes the seal.
A selection of seals found around the San Francisco Bay Area
File:2017 Pioneer Monument.jpg, Minerva stands atop the James Lick Pioneer Monument in San Francisco
File:The Great Seal of the State of California (TK2).JPG, The very large seal at the CPUC building in San Francisco
File:BearFlagMonument SOS3.jpg, At the base of the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt monument in Sonoma
File:Kluft-photo-Circle-of-Palms-State-Seal-April-2008-Img_0765.jpg, Seal at the Circle of Palms Plaza in San Jose
Southern California
A large bronze seal, installed in 1939, was for many years located in front of the First Street entrance to the old State Building in Los Angeles until the structure was torn down in the 1970s.
The seal in the atrium of the
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
State Building in Los Angeles is most likely this seal. Also in downtown Los Angeles, at the Los Angeles County Law Library, a large Seal of California is joined by others representing the various court districts of the area. At the 1934 California State Fair, Los Angeles-based
Helms Bakery
The Helms Bakery on the border of Los Angeles and Culver City, California, was a notable industrial bakery of Southern California that operated from 1931 to 1969. The buildings have now been adapted for reuse as retail shops, restaurants, and fur ...
won the gold medal for the best loaf of bread, topping 471 other entries. Large reproductions of this medal, showing the seal on one side, can be seen on the exterior of all three former locations in
Culver City
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...
,
Montebello, and
San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...
. As part of his 1932 mural on the ceiling of the Fluor Gallery of the
Bowers Museum
The Bowers Museum is an art museum located in Santa Ana, California. The museum's permanent collection includes more than 100,000 objects, and features notable strengths in the areas of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Native American art, the art of A ...
in
Santa Ana, artist Martin Syvertsen included a seal. Another seal is attached to the Family Law Court in
Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
.
Above the bench in Courtroom #1 of the
San Diego Superior Court hangs a stained glass
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
. This was one of forty-two state seals created in 1889 (one for each state then in the Union) by artist John Mallon for the courthouse at the time and saved from oblivion in 1978 by civic-minded San Diegans (the courthouse had been torn down in 1959, and the seals placed in storage). Not far from the Superior Court, just outside the entrance doors to the old central library location at 850 E Street, is another seal. Constructed as part of the
Panama–California Exposition
The Panama–California Exposition was an exposition held in San Diego, California, between January 1, 1915, and January 1, 1917. The exposition celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, and was meant to tout San Diego as the first United Stat ...
, held in San Diego's
Balboa Park from 1915 to 1917, the California Building features a stylized seal. A more standardized
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
appears nearby, above the entrance to the
San Diego Museum of Art
The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Galler ...
. To celebrate the 1935–1936
California Pacific International Exposition
The California Pacific International Exposition was an exposition held in San Diego, California during May 29, 1935–November 11, 1935 and February 12, 1936–September 9, 1936. The exposition was held in Balboa Park, San Diego's large c ...
, also held in Balboa Park, the
United States Mint
The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...
issued a
commemorative half-dollar piece featuring a modified seal on the obverse. In 1907, the
Native Daughters of the Golden West
Native Daughters of the Golden West is an American non-profit organization for women born in California. The organization focuses on the care and preservation of California history. It is the sister organization to the Native Sons of the Golden We ...
presented a large tablet to the officers and crew of the armored cruiser
USS ''California'' (ACR-6). Both the commemorative coin and the tablet were designed by sculptor
Robert Ingersoll Aitken
Robert Ingersoll Aitken (May 8, 1878 – January 3, 1949) was an American sculptor. Perhaps his most famous work is the West Pediment of the United States Supreme Court Building.
Life and career
Born to Charles H. Aitken and Katherine A. Higgens ...
, thus explaining the similarities among the two.
A selection of seals found around southern California
File:Los Angeles County Law Library.JPG, A state seal is featured among the six seen here at the Los Angeles County Law Library
File:Seal_of_California,_1934,_Helms_Bakery,_Culver_City,_California.jpg, From the Helms Bakery building in Culver City
File:Seal_of_California,_1998,_Riverside_Family_Law_Court,_Downtown_Riverside,_California.jpg, From the Family Law Court in downtown Riverside
File:Seal_of_California,_Old_San_Diego_Central_Public_Library.jpg, In front of the old San Diego Central Public Library
File:Seal of California, 1915, California Building, Balboa Park, San Diego.jpg, 1915 seal on the California Building in Balboa Park, San Diego
File:San_diego-california_pacific_exposition_half_dollar_commemorative_obverse.jpg, Obverse of 1936 California Pacific International Exposition Commemorative Half-Dollar
File:Seal of California, 1907, sculpted by Robert Aitken and presented to the armored cruiser California (ACR-6) by the Native Daughters of the Golden West, image taken from an AZO Tri 2 postcard.jpg, From a tablet presented to the cruiser ''California'' by the Native Daughters of the Golden West in 1907
Outside of California
Artistic renditions of the seals of the seven states of the
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
basin are included in the Oskar J.W. Hansen-designed dedication plaza at
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on Se ...
. California's is in the center, directly below a large American
bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
, and is the only seal with
supporter
In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up.
Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the coro ...
s: two California grizzly bears.
The historic
Decatur House
Decatur House is a historic house museum at 748 Jackson Place in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It is named after its first owner and occupant Stephen Decatur. The house (built, 1818) is located at the northwest corner of L ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, once owned by prominent Californian
Edward Fitzgerald Beale
Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale (February 4, 1822 – April 22, 1893) was a national figure in the 19th-century United States. He was a naval officer, military general, explorer, frontiersman, Indian affairs superintendent, California rancher, ...
, features a seal, installed by Beale soon after he bought the house in 1871, made of twenty-two woods native to California. Although now in the collection of the California State Archives in Sacramento, an 1857 stained glass version of the seal, along with the seals of the several states, hung in an enormous iron skylight once located in the ceiling of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
until a
U.S. Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is form ...
renovation in 1949. A similar collection of state seals, created by artist
Herman T. Schladermundt in 1897, is on display in the main reading room of the
Thomas Jefferson Building
The Thomas Jefferson Building is the oldest of the four United States Library of Congress buildings. Built between 1890 and 1897, it was originally known as the Library of Congress Building. It is now named for the 3rd U.S. president Thomas Jeffe ...
of the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
.
Along the north wall of the Memorial Building at the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War II American military war grave cemetery, located between the villages of Coton and Madingley, north-west of Cambridge, England. The cemetery, dedicated in 1956, contains 3,811 American ...
, near
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, are
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
renditions of the state seals, including California's. A similar collection of seals is carved into the limestone floors of the temple area at the
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila, within the boundaries of the former Fort William McKinley. It can be reached most easily from the city via EDSA to McKinley Road, then to McKinley ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, established in 1948.
File:Seal of California (artistic rendition), JW Hansen, Hoover Dam.jpg, J.W. Hansen's artistic rendition of the seal at Hoover Dam's Dedication Plaza
File:Decatur House, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 748 Jackson Place Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC HABS DC,WASH,28- (sheet 18 of 23).png, A blueprint of the seal in the Decatur House in Washington, D.C.
File:Seal_of_California,_1857,_Work_of_John_and_George_Gibson,_California_State_Archives,_Sacramento,_California.jpg, 1857 seal once located in the ceiling of the U.S. House of Representatives
File:Seal_of_California,_1897,_H.T._Schladermundt,_photo_by_C.M._Highsmith,_Jefferson_Building,_Library_of_Congress,_Washington_DC.jpg, 1897 seal in the Library of Congress
File:Seal_of_California,_Cambridge_American_Cemetery,_England.tif, The seal in glass at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, England, U.K.
File:AMERICAN_CEMETERY,TAGUIG_CITY5.jpg, The seal can be seen carved into the floor of the temple area of the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines
Other uses of the Seal
In 1862, the
California Legislature
The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...
created the
California State Normal School
The California State Normal School was a teaching college system founded on May 2, 1862, eventually evolving into San José State University in San Jose and the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles.
History
The school was creat ...
(now
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...
), and bestowed its Great Seal upon the school. Although the university's version of the Seal still graces its Tower Hall and several other buildings on the San Jose State campus, its fate as the school's official Seal is unclear. In recent years the school has also used a different seal depicting its Tower Hall building. The city of
Eureka, California
Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt ...
, uses the same seal, being the only U.S. location to use the state seal as its seal.
[Seal of California](_blank)
, Native Sons of the Golden West, Redwood Parlor #66, retrieved February 14, 2013 The city's name identically matches California's motto. Minerva and the bear appear on the seal of the city of
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
. The seal of the
County of Alpine is nearly an exact copy of the state seal, but with most of the elements reversed, as if reflected in a mirror. The Governor's Flag features a modified seal at its center. The
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...
uses a modified state seal on its patch, replacing the wheat and grape vine with a cactus and adding a setting sun, and a seal as part of its shield that is nearly identical to the actual seal. Most state law enforcement agencies, along with many local and county agencies, display the state seal on their badges.
Because it is a misdemeanor to use any representation or facsimile of the Great Seal of the State of California for commercial purposes, Hollywood productions will often use a modified seal. A fictionalized version of the seal, missing the words "California" and "Eureka", appeared on officers' shoulder patches used for the television series
''Highway Patrol'', which, although filmed in southern California, was set in an unnamed western state. Another made-for-television seal, missing the bear and several ships, and with a wandering island, was used for an episode of the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
series ''
The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show fol ...
''/ Above Judge Wright's head in the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
comedy ''
Bad Judge
''Bad Judge'' is an American legal sitcom television series co-created by Chad Kultgen and Anne Heche. Kultgen and Heche also serve as executive producers, along with Will Ferrell, Kate Walsh, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy, Betsy Thomas, and Jill ...
'' hung an altered seal, missing the ships and a good number of stars. During Mr. Peanutbutter's gubernatorial run on the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
BoJack Horseman
''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animation, adult animated Black comedy, black Comedy drama, comedy-drama streaming television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F ...
'', a seal with an actual seal in place of Minerva was shown. In the 2016
FX production ''
The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story'', a twenty-seven star seal hung above the head of Judge
Lance Ito
Lance Allan Ito (born August 2, 1950) is a retired American judge best known for presiding over the criminal trial for the O. J. Simpson murder case, held in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1995.
Early life and career
Ito was born ...
.
File:San-Jose-State-College-Eure.gif, San Jose State University's historic Seal, from its days as a California State College
File:Seal of Eureka, California.png, Seal of the City of Eureka
File:Seal of Long Beach, California.png, Seal of the City of Long Beach
File:Seal of Alpine County, California.png, Seal of the County of Alpine
File:Flag of the Governor of California.svg, The California State Governor's Flag
File:Seal_of_the_California_Highway_Patrol.svg, CHP Shield
In 1969, the appearance of the seal on state-owned cars parked in unexpected places was used by concerned Californians to identify public vehicles, financed by taxpayers, being used for non-official duties. Observed examples included a vehicle parked at a
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...
casino and "a man, woman, and several children piling out of a state owned car and into a movie theatre at 3 p.m."
As the "signature" of California, the seal has also been used for less-than-solemn purposes, including poking fun at the state's problems. In 1967, soon after Ronald Reagan's inauguration as governor, the ''Sacramento Bee'' ran an editorial cartoon showing an overweight Minerva and bear, representing bloated state government, doing toe-touching exercises as Reagan, dressed as an athletics coach, calls out, "Squeeze, Cut, Trim – Squeeze, Cut, Trim." In 2001, the ''
Oakland Tribune
The ''Oakland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published in Oakland, California, by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group.
Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' rose to become an influential daily newspaper. With the declin ...
'' printed a letter to the editor with a light-hearted suggestion of new imagery for the seal. The writer proposed replacing the sailing ships with Japanese
car carriers, the wheat and grape vine with
Central Valley subdivisions, obscuring the Sierra Nevada with
smog
Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and '' fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then inte ...
, and giving California a new motto more appropriate for the time: "I have lost it." Ross Mayfield, political cartoonist of the ''Santa Maria Sun'', lampooned California's economic situation with his "The New State Seal for the Great Bankrupt State of California" cartoon, which portrayed a worried Minerva holding signs that read "Send Money" and "Need Cash," the miner in his (literal and figurative) hole with a "We're In Too Deep" sign, and the ships flying "Bail Us Out" and "We're Sinking" banners.
[Ross Mayfield]
"If This Had Been a Real Emergency" Blog
accessed July 9, 2011 A version of the seal with
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...
in the place of Minerva and California spelled phonetically as 'Kahlifoania' made the rounds soon after Austrian-born
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
was elected governor in 2003.
Government seals of California
File:Seal of the 40th Governor of California.png, Seal of the Governor of California
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
File:CaliforniaAssemblySeal.svg, Seal of the California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The A ...
File:Seal of the Senate of the State of California.png, Seal of the California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...
File:Seal of California Office of the Controller.svg, Seal of the California State Controller
The state controller of California is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-two individuals have held the office of state controller since statehood. The incumbent is Betty Yee, a ...
File:CaliforniaTreasurerSeal.png, Seal of the California State Treasurer
The state treasurer of California is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-five individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is Fiona Ma, a ...
File:Seal of the Supreme Court of California.png, Seal of the Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
File:Seal of the California Department of Boating and Waterways.png, Seal of the California Department of Boating and Waterways
The Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) was established in 1957 upon enactment of legislation supported by the boating community. That legislation established a state boating agency dedicated to all aspects of recreational boating and a speci ...
File:Seal of the California Department of Education.jpg, Seal of the California Department of Education
The California Department of Education is an agency within the Government of California that oversees public education.
The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. Its st ...
File:Seal of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.gif, Seal of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is a government agency of the state of California that regulates the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages.
Background
Upon the repeal of prohibition in 1933 and ...
File:Seal of the California Department of Parks and Recreation.jpg, Seal of the California Department of Parks and Recreation
The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...
External links
*California State Archives
Long Description for the Great Seal of the State of California*California State Capitol Museum
California Symbols*California State Library
*John Allen
"Peculiarly Appropriate": The Great Seal of the State of California*Netstate.com
References
{{California
Symbols of California
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
category:Minerva