Last modified: 2025-03-29 by rick wyatt
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Rep. Tim Solobay has introduced legislation in the Pennsylvania legislature would add the name of the state in gold silk embroidery to the state flag. Currently, the state flag has nothing on it to identify it as being from Pennsylvania.
An opportunity to vote on a choice exists at www.pahouse.com/Surveys/SolobayStateFlag.asp.
Al Kirsch, 22 September 2006
There are currently nine designs submitted to an electronic survey. When not specified, words and numbers are placed horizontally:
NAVA has a Yahoo group and we've been dealing with this for a bit, including writing to the politician, who has not yet responded. Folks here can join that group easily enough and
follow the thread. We've created a number of proposals, for whatever good it will do.
Albert S. Kirsch, 29 September 2006
On 12 June 2007, the AP agency reported: "Pennsylvania's state flag might soon become more recognizable under legislation that passed the state House yesterday. The chamber voted, 164-31, to add the words Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in yellow silk block letters to the blue banner. Backers said about half the states already include their names on their flags. [...)"
www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/7951857.html
Ivan Sache, 3 July 2007
A bill proposing to change the state of Pennsylvania passed the state House
on 11 June 2007. The change is indeed the addition of the words "Commonwealth
of" above the coat of arms and "Pennsylvania" below it. The bill is currently
being considered by the state Senate.
Ivan Sache, 21 October 2007
I did some digging through old legislation and discovered that while 2007 is
the only time legislation changing the flag passed either chamber of the General
Assembly, there were two different efforts to have the word "Pennsylvania" added
to the flag spanning 2004-2014 from both Rep. Tim Solobay and Rep. Gary Haluska
- the two different efforts ran simultaneously in the 2009-2010 session! I added
this information to the flag's Wikipedia page, along with citations and visual
interpretations of the flag proposals based on text from the bills - I still
have the .svg files and can create .gif files of any deemed important enough to
be added to the page.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_and_coat_of_arms_of_Pennsylvania#Attempts_to_change_the_flag
Tara Stark, 18 September 2022
images by Tara Stark, 18 September 2022
2004-2007 Proposal, adding "the word 'Pennsylvania' to be embroidered upon the flag in yellow silk."
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_and_coat_of_arms_of_Pennsylvania
Tara Stark, 18 September 2022
image by Tara Stark, 18 September 2022
2007-2010 Proposal, adding the words "Commonwealth Of" to the top and "Pennsylvania" to the bottom of the flag in yellow silk, and arching the lettering around the Coat of Arms
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_and_coat_of_arms_of_Pennsylvania
Tara Stark, 18 September 2022
image by Tara Stark, 18 September 2022
2009-2014 Proposal, adding the word "Pennsylvania" in yellow silk "centered within a symmetrical red festoon, similar to that containing the State motto; and the festoon to be centered above the bald eagle on the coat of arms."
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_and_coat_of_arms_of_Pennsylvania
Tara Stark, 18 September 2022
image by Tara Stark,
7 March 2023This proposal for Pennsylvania is starting to see popular use (including support from at least one legislator).
The "Keystone Flag" is a proposed flag for Pennsylvania created by Tara Stark (a
Pennsylvania resident) in 2017. The flag incorporates the keystone (a symbol
already used in official capacities by the Pennsylvania National Guard and
departments within the Government of Pennsylvania) into a tricolor design using
the colors on the coat of arms of Pennsylvania.
The three colors (green,
gold, and Old Glory blue) carry the same symbolism as the element's coat of arms,
including elements outside the escutcheon.
It was overwhelmingly voted
the best design out of over 500 entered into a 2019 redesign study conducted by
a popular state flag design group on Facebook. In 2022, a Kickstarter to produce
the flag (as well as pins and patches) in bulk raised over $4500. Since then,
the flag has begun to see more popular use across and outside of Pennsylvania.
Examples of popular use:
On a state legislator's lapel
From a house in Central PA
From a Pennsylvanian's dorm room in Virginia
A
rainbow/Pride/progress Pride variant
On a Philadelphia journalist's lapel
From a house in Lower Allen, PA
At a community event in Harrisburg, PA
(that's me carrying it) (link to full photoset
here)
On a TV
guest's lapel (Stephen Caruso, featured in 1st/2nd segments of
this episode)
In the background of the set of Flagged For Content (flag podcast) from episode
21 onward
The Keystone Flag is also
being sold by several outlets that are not me:
Flags for Good (also selling
Pride variant)
KiwiVexArt (via etsy)
Enzwell Designs (via FineArtAmerica,
Redbubble, and society6)
Other fun facts:
Though most commonly rendered at a 3:5 ratio, there is no single
prescribed ratio, and proportions can range anywhere from 2:3 to 1:2. In those
cases, rather than extending the blue/green panels and treating the Keystone as
a charge, the Keystone should stretch along with the flag's overall proportions
like a stripe in a tricolor would.
The original design was created in 2017
with a differently shaped Keystone and a shade of blue closer to UN blue. Over
the course of the 2019 study/contest mentioned above, the shape of the keystone
changed for recognizability in changing winds, and the shade of blue changed
from UN-esque to Old Glory-esque to both increase contrast and symbolically
connect the Keystone Flag to the US flag. (Aside minor technical changes to
exact color shades, the design has otherwise been consistent since then.)
Tara Stark, 7 March 2023
image by Tara Stark,
7 March 2023