Flag of Buffalo, New York

The municipal flag of Buffalo is the official banner of the city of Buffalo, New York. The navy blue flag contains a large central emblem consisting of the city seal with 13 "electric flashes" (depicted as lightning bolts) and interspaced 5-pointed white stars emanating from it.

The first flag of Buffalo was adopted by the Common Council in 1912. Following a request from New York City publisher, the Julius Bien Company, to provide a copy of the banner graphic for a work depicting the flags of large municipalities, mayor L.P. Fuhrmann and Commissioner of Public Works, Francis G. Ward, proposed a design. The city's first flag was composed of the city seal superimposed on the state coat-of-arms in blue over a buff-colored background.

From Common Council Proceedings, June 3, 1912:

To the left center a lighthouse on pier with ship passing it into harbor. To the lower right canal boat passing into canal to the right surrounded in circle by the legend "City of Buffalo, Incorporated 1832."

The municipalities of the United States having as a rule a Municipal Flag, examinination shows the general practice to be the use of the Coat of Arms of the City or the Coat of Arms of the State upon which is superimposed the seal of the City.

In accordance with the latter rule we submit as a design for the Municipal Flag of the City of Buffalo, the following:

"The Coat of Arms of the State of New York with the Seal of the City of Buffalo superimposed upon the shield of the same all in blue upon the field of the flag in Continental buff."

(Despite the assertion above, no such "general practice" of superimposing city seals over state seals has been documented.)

Though the Common Council passed an ordinance describing the official seal of the city and its flag, the seal described was not the one included on the banner. At the time there were several seals being used by various city officials. The seal depicted on the flag was actually the seal being used by the Mayor. There are a few differences, the most glaring being the legend surrounding the circle says "Seal of the City of Buffalo" instead of "City of Buffalo, Incorporated 1832." The Mayoral seal also depicts two mules, nonexistent in the Common Council version, pulling the canal boat in the opposite direction described by the Council. The large ship and the pier are also completely different.

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