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San Rafael, California (U.S.)

Marin County

image by Masao Okazaki, 16 October 2021

Description of the flag
Seal
Earlier flag

See also:

Marin County
Municipal flags of California (index page)
California
United States of America

Description of the flag

I was told by the city of San Rafael that a new branding logo was developed in 2016 and was sent a photo of the new flag.

A photo from the city's website: https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/sanrafaelca/uploads/2020/12/PC.jpg

A previous flag can be seen in the same location (from Marin Independent Journal)
Article: https://www.marinij.com/2018/02/03/san-rafael-to-launch-90-day-public-review-on-district-elections/
Photo in article: https://www.marinij.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2018/201802/NEWS_180209930_AR_0_CAQMZUYFGYIB.jpg
On Reddit, I found a possible illustration of the previous flag, but I don't know anything else about it. The photo above suggests the illustration is slightly inaccurate: https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/8bo37e/old_flag_of_san_rafael_ca/
Masao Okazaki, 16 October 2021

The seal

image located by Paul Bassinson, 30 May 2019

Source: https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/sanrafaelca

Earlier flag

image by Masao Okazaki, 25 February 2024 and António Martins-Tuválkin, 28 July 2024
based on photo located by Daniel Rentería, 23 February 2024

I own a small copy of the flag of San Rafael, produced likely anywhere from the '80s to early '90s. It should be noted that there are images of this flag inside the San Rafael mission, however, it does not appear flags are flown here anymore. The flag does appear to depict the display of bells outside of the mission. I did contact the city clerk, who unfortunately could not find any records related to this flag.
Daniel Rentería, 23 February 2024

I received an email in September 2021 from Laraine K. Gittens, Legal Assistant of the Office of the City Attorney, that stated:
"The San Rafael Public Library’s Supervising Librarian found the attached news clip and described as follows:
There was a contest in 1970 to design a city flag- there is a drawing and description of the flag that was created in the Marin Independent Journal Tuesday, 11/3/1970 article attached above. The flag background was orange and white with the bell and the words San Rafael in dark blue. This appears to be an earlier flag than the one shone in the city council chamber photo."
Masao Okazaki, 24 February 2024

image by Masao Okazaki, 25 February 2024 and António Martins-Tuválkin, 28 July 2024

I can see that the flag is orange, though I should note that the copy I own is certainly red. Possibly a variant.
Daniel Rentería, 25 February 2024

Text from the newspaper clipping provided by Masao:

“A mission bell symbolizes the city's heritage in this winning design for a San Rafael city flag. The design, submitted by Barbara Schlesselman, 16…was selected from more than 100 submitted by San Rafael school students. It was presented to the city council last night, but the council will wait until a cloth model is made before deciding whether officially to adopt it. The two blocks on each side of the flag will be a bright orange, and the bell and words ‘San Rafael’ will be a dark blue on white.”
Daniel Rentería, 28 July 2024