Flag of Indianapolis

The flag of Indianapolis was adopted on May 20, 1963. It was designed by Roger Gohl, at the time a student at the Herron School of Art. The white star represents the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, and its centralization the fact that Indianapolis is the state capital of Indiana. The white circle and the red field within it depict Monument Circle. The color red also signifies "the driving energy and urge for progress that has made the City of Indianapolis race ahead." The four white stripes represent North and South Meridian Streets vertically, and East and West Market Streets horizontally (the streets that radiate from Monument Circle), along with the city's unofficial motto, the Crossroads of America. The four quadrants of dark blue symbolize the residential areas of the city.[1] The colors of the flag are the same as the flag of the United States.

Indianapolis

Proportion	3:5
Adopted	May 20, 1963
Design	A white star within a red circle within a white circle, with four white stripes moving outward perpendicularly, on a field of navy blue.

The flag replaced the existing city flag that had been created in 1915. By 1962 city leaders thought that a more modern flag was needed, so the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce sponsored a contest to create a new one, with a prize of $50 for the winning entry. The instructor in one of Gohl's classes at Herron required each member of the class to submit an entry. Gohl's winning entry had the circle and vertical stripe offset to the left rather than being centered; he was unaware of the change until he returned to visit the city in 1969.[2]

The city flag assumed a new role as the de facto, though not de jure, symbol of Marion County on January 1, 1970, when the City of Indianapolis and Marion County merged their respective governments.[3]

A 2004 survey of flag design quality by the North American Vexillological Association ranked Indianapolis's flag 8th best of 150 American city flags. It earned a score 8.35 out of 10.[4]