View source for Flag of Houston

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{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{More sources|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name = City of Houston
| Article = 
| Image = Flag of Houston, Texas.svg
| Alt = 
| Noborder = <!-- Leave blank for rectangular flag; for non-rectangular flag, type "no". -->
| Nickname = 
| Morenicks = 
| Use = <!-- Required for |Symbol -->
| Symbol = <!-- |Use="6-digit FIAV usage code" is required. -->
| Proportion = 1:2 (official)<br>17:30 (usage)
| Adoption = 1915
| Relinquished = 
| Design = A blue field with the [[Seal of Houston]] in the center of a 5-pointed star in the middle of the flag
| Designer = W. A. Wheeldon
}}
[[File:Coat of Arms of Sam Houston.svg|thumb|right|The initial flag design had Sam Houston's coat of arms in the middle, instead of the city seal]]
The flag of [[Houston, Texas]] consists of a large white five-pointed star on a blue background with the [[Seal of Houston|city's seal]] set within the star. The flag was adopted in 1915.

In 1915, Mayor Ben Campbell decided Houston should have its own flag and organized a contest to solicit submissions from the public. According to a Houston Post clipping from 1915, one design idea included an illustration of Houston as a meteor, "the head of the star of which was plowing its way through a sky of equal proportions of red and blue."

The winning design was submitted by Major W.A. Wheeldon, a British ex-pat. The design, drawn by Mrs. J.W. Greenhill Jr., originally depicted the coat of arms of Sam Houston's family. A panel of contest judges, however, substituted the city seal for the coat of arms, saying it was more forward-looking.

The city seal was adopted in 1840, not long after the city was founded by Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen. It depicts a [[4-4-0 locomotive]], although it was before any railroad reached Houston. According to John Lienhard, a professor emeritus of mechanical engineering and history at the University of Houston said the 4-4-0 locomotive featured prominently on the seal had only been around for three years at that point.<ref>[http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2515.htm No. 2515, Houston and the Railways].  Engines of our Ingenuity</ref>

This flag is not very popular or displayed commonly. In 2015, an original 1915 prototype for what would become the official flag was found in a resident's garage and was given to Preservation Houston. Eventually, the group raised $3,500 to have the flag restored. The North American Vexillological Association kicked in the remainder of the cost with a $500 grant. The flag was sent to be restored in New Orleans and now hangs in the Julia Ideson Library downtown.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* {{FOTW|id=us-tx-hu|title=Houston, Texas (U.S.)}}

{{Houston, Texas}}
{{Flags of cities in the United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Flag of}}
[[Category:Government of Houston|Flag]]
[[Category:Culture of Houston|Flag]]
[[Category:Flags of cities in Texas]]
[[Category:Flags introduced in 1915]]
[[Category:1915 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:Flags with blue, white and yellow]]