The city flag of

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

was adopted by the city on July 1, 1930. The many pieces of the unique flag portray the various elements that made the city itself a success. The flag is one of the few non-quadrilateral flags in use.

Creation of flag

Although

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

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

History and description

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(red, white and blue);

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(green, white, and red); and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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

flag of Spain The flag of Spain (), as it is defined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the height of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle co ...

who had a large part in both

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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

St. Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Chu ...

and St. George”. The red, white, blue, and stars depict the United States of America, which bought the state in 1821. The red, white, and blue on the left side of the flag is a representation of the

French flag The national flag of France () is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. The design was adopted after the French Revolution, whose revolutionaries were influenced by the horizontally striped r ...

. The tip of the flag, which is red and green and has a single white star, portrays the Italian flag. Both countries “had an influence on the culture and heritage” of the city of Tampa and creator Whitney wanted to incorporate the many immigrants who helped the city grow and thrive. “Fort Brooke was established and, in 1834, the Territorial Legislature created Hillsborough County, which is symbolized by a stylized "H"”. The letter “H” is creatively disguised and made up of the representations of the flags of France and Spain with the blue line that forms the large “T” which is turned sideways. This “T” is much more visible to the eye and stands for the city's name: Tampa. “The City Seal of Tampa is featured over the white, gold and red stripes. The seal notes that the City of Tampa was organized in 1887. Tampa was incorporated as a village in 1849, as a town in 1855, and as a city in 1887.” With Tampa holding its annual Gasparilla pirate parade, many think the ship in the center of the flag is a reference to pirates; however, the ship bearing the three masts with two sails apiece is surprisingly supposed to be a rendition of the man who helped the more isolated city of Tampa flourish, Henry B. Plant. Incorporating Plant's ship, the ''Mascotte'', was important, as “The significant contributions to the development of Florida and Tampa Bay are why Success magazine dubbed Henry Plant “the King of Florida” in 1898.” The unique shape of the flag recalls that of an obsolete calvalry guidon once used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, th
chamfered swallowtail
Albeit, the doubl

on the end render it

a chamfered double swallowtail.

Criticism

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tampa, Florida Culture of Tampa, Florida Flag controversies in the United States Flags of cities in Florida Flags introduced in 1930 Controversies in Florida

Creation of flag

History and description

Criticism

See also

References