artandculturetoday Group

The City of St Louis municipal flag stands out because it’s real design, not just a seal on a bedsheet.

• Meaningful geometry: The two blue, wavy bands aren’t decoration—they’re the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers meeting at St. Louis.

• Clear centerpiece: The gold fleur-de-lis (on a white roundel) nods to the city’s French heritage and founding—recognizable from a distance, readable at postcard size.

• Strong palette: Bold red field with high-contrast white/blue lines and a single gold emblem. No tiny seals, no text to blur at distance.

• Professional pedigree: The 1964 redesign by Theodore Sizer produced a flag with classic heraldic balance and modern simplicity.

• Vexillology-friendly: It follows best practices—simple, symbolic, no lettering, distinctive—so it works on poles, patches, jerseys, and wayfinding.

• Contrast with peers: Many Missouri municipal flags rely on the state seal or city seal dropped on a plain background; St. Louis uses symbolism and layout to tell its story instead of a bureaucratic stamp.

Net: St. Louis’s flag is iconic because it communicates identity at a glance—rivers, roots, and city—while most local flags read like paperwork at fifty feet.

— Baldwin Flags