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Anchorage, Alaska (U.S.)

City and Borough

2:3 image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 26 January 2008
based on image from www.muni.org

Anchorage
Current Flag
Police Department
Seal
Alaska Career College
Alaska Pacific University
Charter College
Providence Alaska Medical Center
Greater Anchorage Area Borough

See also:

City

Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in Alaska and Alaska's most populous city.

The Municipality of Anchorage comprises the City of Anchorage + Greater Anchorage Area Borough + Chugiak-Eagle River Borough.
Dave Fowler, 17 April 2019

Text and image(s) from American City Flags, Raven 9-10 (2002-2003), courtesy of the North American Vexillological Association, which retains copyright. Image(s) from American City Flags by permission of David B. Martucci.

Design

The flag of Anchorage has a gold field of 6 units by 9, with the municipal seal in the center, 3.5 units in diameter. The field of the seal is white. In its center, and extending nearly to its inner circumference, is a blue anchor with its tangs curving upwards halfway along each side of the seal, ending in barbed inward-facing points. The anchor overlays an 18th-century sailing ship in yellow under full sail toward the hoist. A wavy yellow line below the ship suggests the ocean. In the upper left above the ship's prow is a small rayless yellow sun. Above the ship's stern, in blue, is a modern airplane, flying toward the hoist. Two narrow blue concentric circles set closely together enclose the seal. Curved and centered above the outer edge of the seal is ANCHORAGE, curved and centered below is ALASKA, all in small blue letters.
John M. Purcell, American City Flags, Raven 9-10, 2002-2003

Symbolism

The ship on the seal symbolizes the voyages of British Captain James Cook (1728-1779) who explored the site of Anchorage in today's Cook Inlet. The airplane represents Anchorage's pivotal role as a transportation hub, and the sun symbolizes the city's northern latitude and wide variation of daylight hours from summer to winter. The anchor represents the city's name and origin as an anchorage.
John M. Purcell, American City Flags, Raven 9-10, 2002-2003

Selection

The flag was developed sometime after the municipality's seal was adopted.
John M. Purcell, American City Flags, Raven 9-10, 2002-2003

Designer

Unknown.
John M. Purcell, American City Flags, Raven 9-10, 2002-2003

More about the Flag

The ship is likely the HMS Resolution, a British ship under the control of the famous Captain James Cook on his final voyage of exploration in the Pacific. The city of Anchorage gets its name because Captain Cook anchored adjacent to where the city center is now located. He wrote "anchorage" on his maps. It is a very interesting story (which I won't include here), and explains many of the unusual geographic names in the area.
Michael Wilson, 17 May 2004

The city flag is reported in use in and after July 26, 2005, half-staffed as a sign of mourning for slain denizens: "City flags flew at half-staff last week" at www.muni.org/MayorNews/MTP20050801.cfm and "City flags lowered" at www.muni.org/Mayor/press_release_20050726.cfm.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 26 January 2008

Having lived in Anchorage, I can tell you that it was in use at least as early as 1980, and probably dating to the incorporation of the municipality in the 1970s.
David C. Fowler, 26 January 2008

The Anchorage flag was designed by Joan Kimura, based on the Anchorage Times. It was adopted through a contest by the city Historical and Fine Arts Commission, which started on 6 October 1972 in its search for a city flag. The winning design was announced on 12 January 1973. So it was adopted before unifying with the borough. It should be noted that the sun is a representation of the Midnight Sun; as well as the fact that the original winning design used black instead of blue and a different shade of yellow, which changed after the city was advised to do so from flag manufacturers.

What is also known is that the logo on the city flag became the city seal on 16 September 1975; the city flag was also adopted officially the same day.
Daniel Rentería, 14 September 2025

Police Department

image by Randy Young, 22 March 2020

Flag is a white patch on a black field: https://www.instagram.com/
Patch: https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net
Paul Bassinson, 22 March 2020

Seal

image located by Paul Bassinson, 17 April 2019

Source: https://www.adn.com/resizer/.../Assembly-Anchorage-City-Seal.jpg
Paul Bassinson, 17 April 2019

Providence Alaska Medical Center

image by Randy Young, 18 May 2016

Providence Alaska Medical Center is the largest hospital in the state of Alaska. Located in Anchorage, the hospital and its supporting health system are the second-largest employer in the state.

According to photographs online, Providence Alaska Medical Center flies a flag that combines the hospital's corporate logo with the Donate Life logo and inscription. The flag features a white field. In the top half is the hospital's corporate logo. Toward the fly is a Christian cross, colored dark blue on top and gold on the bottom, with the name of the hospital extending off toward the fly from the cross. The bottom half of the flag represents Donate Life, with the Donate Life logo toward the fly and the motto of "Honoring Organ & Tissue Donors" extending toward the fly.

The photographs can be seen at
www.saratogaflag.com (image: www.saratogaflag.com) and www.lifealaska.org (image: www.lifealaska.org)
Randy Young, 18 May 2016

Greater Anchorage Area Borough

image located by Dave Fowler, 14 September 2025

Here's the seal of the Greater Anchorage Area Borough. I have no memory if there was a flag or not.

The City of Anchorage was established in 1920.
The Greater Anchorage Area Borough, which encompassed outlying areas, was established in 1964.
The were unified as the Municipality of Anchorage in 1975.
The Chugiak-Eagle River Borough was established in 1974, but was annexed into the Municipality of Anchorage in 1975. (I lived there).
Dave Fowler, 14 September 2025