The seal of Minneapolis was adopted by the Minneapolis City Council on June 5, 1878. The seal consists of a shield centered on a round form. The shield contains a pictorial view of St. Anthony Falls, the old suspension bridge across the lower channel of the Mississippi River, mill buildings and the skyline of the city. The symbols of Minneapolis's early fortune in the foreground show a plowshare, a shock of grain and a barrel of flour, a gear wheel, a large circular saw and a stack of lumber. Above the shield in the rays of light is the city's motto, En Avant, meaning "forward" in French.