cleveland flag

Cleveland flag design 24 celebrates two Cleveland nicknames: the Sixth City and the Rock and Roll Capital of the World.

The flag design comprises six horizontal stripes that run the length of the flag’s middle third. Above and below the stipes are two sets of three five-point stars.

The six stripes and six stars refer to Cleveland’s nickname as the Sixth City. The 1910 census revealed Cleveland, Ohio, (population 560,663) beat Baltimore, Maryland, as the sixth most populous city in the nation. For the next decade, promotional material and corporate correspondence included the nickname the Sixth City. The effort paid off and following the 1920 census, Cleveland found itself the fifth largest city behind New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. By the 1930 census, Cleveland lost the title of fifth largest city in America to Los Angeles, California. Once again, Cleveland was the Sixth City and the nickname stuck.

Alan Freed was a Cleveland disc jockey. On July 11, 1951, Freed was the first person to play a rhythm and blues record on a major, high power radio station. His late-night radio program, the Moondog Rock and Roll House Party aired on Cleveland’s WJW 850 A.M. Cleveland music store owner Leo Mintz, who saw his white customers enjoying black rhythm and blues music in his store Record Rendezvous, encouraged Freed to play the music on the air.

Freed also popularized the phrase “rock and roll.” In March 1952, Freed’s Moondog Coronation Ball at the Cleveland Area was the first rock and roll concert. Together, Freed and Mintz’s contribution to rock and roll helped Cleveland secure the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which opened in September 1995.

While Alan Freed and Leo Mintz may be the catalysts for Cleveland’s connection to rock and roll, the formal title of Rock and Roll Capital of the World is attributed to WMMS Program Director Billy Brass in 1972. He coined the nickname in recognition of the contribution Freed and Mintz made to the genre two decades earlier.

As tribute to the rock and roll nickname, the flag’s six stripes also reference the six strings on a guitar. The six five-point stars are arranged in two groups of three and positioned near the left side of the flag. The lower row of stars are reflected to match the upper row to represent the six tuning pegs on a guitar’s headstock. Together, the stars and stripes commemorate Cleveland as the Rock and Roll Capital of the World.

The three five-point stars at the flag’s upper third stand for Lake Erie, the Cuyahoga River and the land, all of which lead to Cleveland’s founding in 1796 and helped to make Cleveland an economic powerhouse in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The three stars at the flag’s lower third represent Cleveland’s east side, downtown and west side. White stands for integrity and blue stands for pride.

In addition to the blue and white color scheme, this Cleveland flag design offers two alternates: a red and white color scheme and a red, white and blue color scheme.

See how this proposed Cleveland flag concept compares to other Ohio flags.