The flag of the city of Detroit was designed in 1907 by David E. Heineman and was officially adopted as the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
's
flag in 1948. The flag's design has been slightly altered several times in the years since, the most recent in 2000.
Design
The flag has the city
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 imp ...
emblazoned on quartered background, with each section representing a country that once controlled
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
. The lower
hoist (left) quarter represents
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, which founded the fort and settlement in 1701; it has five gold
fleurs-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol.
The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...
on a white field, imitating the
Royal Standard of France. The upper
fly (right) quarter represents
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 i ...
, which controlled the fort from 1760 to 1796; it has three gold
lions on a red field, imitating the
Royal Arms of England
The royal arms of England are the arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as personal arms by the Plantagenet kings who ruled England from 1154. In the popular mind they have come to symbolise the ...
. The lower fly has 13 red and white stripes and the upper hoist has 13 white stars on a blue field, representing the original
thirteen colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...
of the United States.
Symbolism
The two Latin mottos read and , meaning "We hope for better things" and "It will rise from the ashes", which was written by
Gabriel Richard
Gabriel Richard (pronounced rish-ARD) October 15, 1767 – September 13, 1832, was a French Roman Catholic priest who ministered to the French Catholics in the parish of Sainte Anne de Détroit, as well as Protestants and Native Americans liv ...
after the Great Fire of 1805. The seal is a representation of the Detroit fire which occurred on June 11, 1805. The fire caused the entire city to burn with only one building saved from the flames. The figure on the left weeps over the destruction while the figure on the right gestures to the new city that will rise in its place.
History
In the original design of the flag, the seal was oval. In the early 1970s, the flag was redesigned and the seal was changed to a circle. In 1976, the colors were standardized using the Pantone Matching System, and in approximately 2000, the seal was again changed to reduce the number of colors.
See also
*Flag of Michigan
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
Photograph of the Detroit city flag in 1972Photograph of the Detroit city flag in 1976Photograph of the Detroit city flag in 1983Photograph of the Detroit city flag in 1983
{{DEFAULTSORT:Detroit, Michigan, Flag of
Detroit, Flag
Flags of cities in Michigan
Flags introduced in 1948
1948 establishments in Michigan
Flags displaying animals