cleveland flag

Cleveland, Ohio, is the rock and roll capital of the world. The city is home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1951, Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed’s late-night radio show, The Moondog Rock and Roll House Party, popularized the phrase “rock and roll” on the airwaves. This Cleveland flag design pays tribute to rock and roll and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun created the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in 1983. In 1986, the foundation chose Cleveland to host the museum over notable locations including New York, San Francisco, Memphis and Chicago . On June 7, 1993, Pete Townshend, Chuck Berry, Billy Joel and others attended the Rock Hall’s groundbreaking ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio.

The museum was dedicated September 1, 1995. The next day, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame opened to the public. A concert held at Cleveland Municipal Stadium featured performances by music legends James Brown, Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash and Booker T. and the M.G.s.

This Cleveland flag design is a tribute to Cleveland’s connection to rock and roll and the iconic lakefront museum. Designed by renowned architect I. M. Pei, the Rock Hall comprises a series of geometric shapes anchored to a 162-foot-tall tower. The museum’s façade is two triangle glass tents that extend from the top of the tower to cover a 65,000-square-foot plaza at its base, which houses the museum’s entrance. In front of the Rock Hall, enormous red letters spell out “Long Live Rock.”

The red and white fields in the flag design represent I. M. Pei’s geometric design of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The shapes point upward to symbolize Cleveland’s progress and prosperity; the city’s motto. The blue field represents Lake Erie, which is directly behind the Rock Hall.

The red represents the city’s energy. White stands for the Cleveland’s future. The blue is for pride.

This new Cleveland flag design is built on a 1:5 grid. See how this flag compares to other current Ohio city flags.