As a native of this great city and a Chicago history buff - so to speak - I thought it would be fun to research some of the people, places, things and events that have shaped this town from its humble beginnings as a military fort on the banks of the Chicago River in 1803 to the industrial, architectural, ethnically diverse and economically prosperous powerhouse that it is today. It is only natural for me to start with the flag that flies throughout our great city.
To understand the Chicago flag and its meaning, you have to go back to 1915 when Mayor William Hale Thompson formed the municipal flag commission; its obvious purpose being to create a flag for the city encompassing the history, values and character of its residents. The commission was chaired by Alderman James A. Kearns and included prominent members of society such as; wealthy industrialist Charles Deering, chairman of the International Harvester Company, and impressionist painter Lawton S. Parker, professor at the Art Institute of Chicago.
In addition, lecturer and poet Wallace Rice was brought in to develop the rules for an open and public competition for best flag design. The commission received more than a thousand entries, but in the end, on April 4, 1917, the commission chose the design that Wallace Rice himself had created. Despite being a successful author of historical pageants, including one celebrating the centennial of the state of Illinois, Rice is best remembered today for creating the Chicago Flag.
The Stripes
The Chicago Flag was created on a white canvass, broken into thirds by two bars of blue. From top-to-bottom, the white stripes embody Chicago's North, West and South sides. The top blue stripe represents Lake Michigan and the North Branch of the Chicago River. The bottom blue stripe stands for the South Branch of the Chicago River and the Great Canal.
To be continued with the meanings of the four red stars...