Atop of Cleveland鈥檚 City Hall is a US Flag, but flying right in front are two identical flags that are also red, white and blue. Those are Cleveland's own flags.
But you won't find this symbol flying over many places beyond city hall.
In 2015, Roman Mars, the host of a podcast called 99% Invisible hosted a Ted Talk about city flags. In the Ted Talk, he explains that a well-designed flag follows five basic rules.
- Keep it simple.
- Use meaningful symbolism.
- Use 2-3 basic colors.
- No lettering or seals.
- Be distinctive.
Cleveland鈥檚 flag follows some of those rules, but it certainly breaks some too.
The seal in the center of the flag features a cog to represent industry, and oars to represent Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River. The green wreath is a nod to forestry.
The small details are easy to miss when the flag flies high in the sky.
Perhaps a new flag design would encourage more Clevelanders to fly a local flag.
There are Facebook groups advocating for a new Cleveland flag.
In 2015, Gregory Kula started an online petition to get others on board.
The petition didn鈥檛 get much attention, but Kula stands by the idea that the city would benefit from a new flag.
I think Cleveland has an identity, so we deserve a flag that shows that identity to the rest of the country and to the rest of the world,鈥� Kula said.
There are some Clevelanders who love and adore the flag as is.
Terrell Pruitt hangs the Cleveland Flag outside of his East Side home.
Pruitt was born and raised in Cleveland and has been a city employee for more than two decades.
He thinks more Clevelanders would embrace the flag if they were informed that it even exists.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 learn about it in school,鈥� Pruitt said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a hidden gem, right? I had to discover it on my own.鈥�
The flagship beers at Market Garden Brewery on Cleveland鈥檚 West Side are called 鈥淧rogress鈥� and 鈥淧rosperity鈥� after the two words printed on the bottom of the Cleveland flag.
Market Garden owner Sam McNulty does love the flag, but wouldn鈥檛 mind considering a new design.
鈥淚f we want to improve upon something that鈥檚 already doing a great job, let鈥檚 do it,鈥� McNulty said. 鈥淥ur flag can progress and evolve just like our city has.鈥�
