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Boise, Idaho (U.S.)

Ada County

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 27 January 2008
Based on www.nava.org

Description of the flag
Previous flag

See also:

Description of the Flag

A blue flag with a white horizontal stripe offset to the bottom (apparent specs: (5+2+2):12) with large golden yellow bold serif capitals reading "Boise", loosely set and with a blue underline which overlies "City of Trees" set likewise but in much smaller blue letters. On the upper blue panel the dome of the Sate capitol with surrounding foliage in blue one white monochrome set over a disc, partly overlapped by the white stripe, and on the bottom blue stripe this disc outlined with a golden yellow contour. The overall effect is a centered logo, which is independently used (see below) and almost surely predates the flag.

This logo is widely used locally, as in the front of the City Hall: www.geocities.com/ron8318/roadtrip2004/rt_idaho_boise_city_hall_1a.jpg, and www.johnnyjet.com/images/PICFORwebsiteBOISEAUG312002aaatcityhall.JPG. The logo features the State Capitol; see photos at http://www.commercialnw.com/images/pictures/boise.jpg and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Boise_Idaho.jpg.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 27 January 2008

Previous flag

image by Rob Raeside, 2 June 2014

From American City Flags:
BOISE FORMER FLAG: "An earlier flag designed by Mrs. Delton (Marguerite) Irish, was adopted by city council on 3 January 1972 and used until March 2001. This flag placed the city's seal of 19 units in diameter in the center of a blue field 34 units by 60 units. The seal, which was adopted in the 19th century, is very elaborate. Its gold beveled edge has 60 small triangular gold points emanating from around it. The seal itself has a white field, and is heraldic in appearance. In the center is an ornate shield with gold edges. Four thin gold lines emanate from a tiny gold-edged blue rhomboid in the center of the shield, thus quartering it. The first quarter shows a golden yellow sunrise over the area's Shaw Mountain, with a cultivated field and cottonwood trees, in natural colors, to suggest the origin of the city's name, Les Bois. The second quarter has a white-winged caduceus with two brown snakes entwined around it on a green field, to represent the first doctors and medical missionaries in the area. The third quarter has a gold sheaf of wheat on a green background, to symbolize the area's agriculture. The fourth quarter shows a burnished gold cornucopia spilling out golden coins toward the dexter side of the shield, to represent the mining wealth of the region. At the base of the shield is a small golden yellow ribbon with 1865 in gold numerals outlined in black. The dexter supporter is a white-bearded miner, symbolizing the gold rush and early mining development of the area; his left arm leans on the shield, his right arm holds the handle of a pickaxe to his side. A long-handled shovel lies at his feet, pointed toward the base of the shield. He wears a brown broad-brimmed hat, a light blue shirt with a scarf around his neck, and dark blue trousers. The sinister supporter is a soldier in full 19th-century uniform, commemorating Fort Boise as a military post; his right arm supports the shield, his left hand rests on his sword. His jacket and broad-brimmed hat are dark blue, his trousers a lighter blue, and his boots, brown. The shield and the supporters stand on a brown platform of hewn logs. Immediately below the platform is a blue heraldic ribbon with BOISE CITY in gold, curved to follow the inner edge of the seal. At the top of the seal, curved along its inner edge, is a similar ribbon reading SEAL OF. Below this ribbon, in the crest position, is a brown beaver on a log, facing the hoist, commemorating an early name for the Idaho Territory, "Beaver Territory". Between the beaver and the shield is yet another blue heraldic ribbon with the motto in gold: PERIL, ENERGY, SUCCESS, summarizing Boise's settlement history. The seal was first colored by Mayor Eugene W. Shellworth in 1963; it was previously embossed or depicted only in black and white".

I found the Boise city seal image (mentioned on the flag) on wiki here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boise_Idaho_City_Seal.PNG

Ben Cahoon, 2 June 2014