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Gilroy, California

image by Blas Delgado Ortiz, 6 October 2005

Flag Description

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Flag Description

The Gilroy Dispatch reported on 23 July 2003 that the city of Gilroy, California -- famous as the home of the Gilroy Garlic Festival -- has adopted a flag. A photograph of it shows the city seal on a white field with a blue border.
Andrew Rogers, 24 July 2003

The website at www.ci.gilroy.ca.us shows the seal in a standard circular format. The outer circle is thick and black, with the words 'CITY OF GILROY' in large thick white block letters at the top, two five-pointed old gold stars at each side, and the words 'INCORPORATED MARCH 12, 1970' in smaller and thinner white block letters at the bottom; these letters seem to be underlined by several small white dots. The central image is divided per fess white and gold by a railroad track in black. On the track above the fess is an old fashioned steam locomotive in black, pulling a tender in old gold, and with a brown passenger coach windowed white. The same are situated in front of a station building in fray, white, and black. Gray-colored steam issues from the smokestack of the locomotive and also from a black chimney on the roof of the station into a clear white sky. Beneath the fess is what appears to be a field in old gold with some sort of illustration, unclear to me.
Ron Lahav, 22 October 2004

The municipal flag of Gilroy consists simply of the municipal seal on a white background. The origins of the municipal seal are lost in the past. It apparently existed when Gilroy was incorporated in 1860, as a wafer impression later colored in black and white appears on the city charter. Likewise no one knows when the seal was actually colored; aside from the colored versions on the city flag, the B&W line drawing is the version in daily use. The items in the lower foreground of the central image of the seal, directly beneath the railway train, are various fruits, nuts, wine, and other types of agricultural produce grown in Gilroy around 1860 and which were shipped by train to Stockton, San Francisco/Oakland, or Sacramento; Gilroy was the railhead for the surrounding area.
Rhonda Pellin, City Clerk, through Ron Lahav, 25 October 2004

A flag competition was held in the spring of 2003. However, there were no acceptable submittals from the competition, and the City Council agreed to having the City Seal on the flag - approved on 2 June 2003.
Michael Smuda, 26 October 2004

The city seal has different colors. The letters as well as the dark-sky blue inside the body of the seal are golden. The green pasture is somewhat tan. The white boxes are blue.
Blas Delgado Ortiz, 6 October 2005