Cedar Rapids, Iowa, City Flag History

Cedar Rapids is located on the Cedar River 100 miles northeast of the capital of Iowa, Des Moines. The city was established in 1838 as the town of Columbus. N.B. Brown and Associates resurveyed the town in 1841 and renamed it Cedar Rapids. The city was incorporated in 1849. It is unknown whether the Cedar Rapids city flag has been officially adopted, but a city flag was chosen in 1962.

A city flag design contest was held among the Cedar Rapids high schools. The winning design was created by Fred Easker Jr. The following meanings were attached to the design:

• Church: Represents the numerous churches in the city

• Corn Stalks: Agriculture

• Factory: Symbolizes area industry

• Memorial Coliseum: Symbolizes Cedar Rapids as a progressive city

• Structure on Left: Symbolizes the first mill built in 1842

• Red, White and Blue: The colors of the Iowa state flag and the American flag

• Ribbon Containing Slogan: Symbolizes the Cedar River

• Unfinished Building with Girders Showing: Cedar Rapids promising future

In 2004, the North American Vexillological Association conducted The American City Flag Survey. Cedar Rapid’s flag ranked 142 out of 150 flags making it the ninth worst city flag included in the survey.

It is interesting to note that the city has seal that would have been an excellent choice to include on its city flag, minus the wording. The seal image is the Tree of Five Seasons, a sculpture in the downtown area that is representative of the city nickname, the “City of Five Seasons”.

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