Issue 17

FLAGWAVER

JOURNAL OF GREAT WATERS ASSOCIATION OF VEXILLOLOGY

May 2004 Vol. IX, No. 1, Issue 17

LOUISVILLE ADOPTS NEW FLAG

Louisville - Jefferson County Metropolitan Government, Kentucky

Louisville reclaimed its position as largest city in Kentucky when it merged with Jefferson County in a metro government on January 1, 2003. In 1974 it had lost that status to Lexington when the latter city merged with Fayette County in a similar government. One of the first orders of business as of January 3, 2003, for the new metro council was the adoption of a new seal and flag. Section I of the ordinance describes the details of the seal:

The official seal of Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government shall be a device, the main features of which shall be a circle with a blue outline having a gold colored fleur-de-lis at its top and the date “1778" shall appear in the circle in gold on either side of the fleur-de-lis at its base, with “17" on one side and “78" on the other. On the outside of the circle in gold letters along the blue outline of the circle (beginning where the number 8 would be on a clock face and ending where the number 4 would be) are the words “LOUISVILLE--JEFFERSON COUNTY”in upper case. Along the outside of the circle on the bottom is the name “METRO” in white letters and in upper case on a “reflex blue” background. The form of the fleur-de-lis shall be the same as the original stylized version presented which includes a gradation of color from gold to white giving it the appearance of being three-dimensional.

In Section III of the ordinance, the flag is adopted:

The following described flag is adopted as the official flag of Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government: the Official Seal as described in Section I of the ordinance centered on a solid “reflex blue” background.

(Section II prohibits the use of the seal for any commercial purpose.)

Louisville’s former city flag, in use since at least 1934 and perhaps earlier, will very likely be missed by vexillologists. That flag, with its dark blue field, a circle of 13 white stars in the canton, and 3 gold fleurs-de-lis in the center fly stands as one of the better-designed city flags in the United States. } (JP) (See Flagwaver, Vol VI, No. 2 [December , 2001]: 1, 10 for the former flag.) From metro government information supplied by Paul W. Newton via Rob Raeside and FOTW.