The seal of Chicago and the municipal device are the other Chicago symbols besides the Chicago flag. The seal was adopted when Chicago became a city by declaration of the State of Illinois on March 4, 1837. The seal has several images, including the shield in the center with a sheath of wheat, which symbolizes fertility. The ship represents Lake Michigan while the Indian is the original settler of the area. Then there’s the sleeping infant. What do you suppose it represents? Some people say he represents innocence and purity.
The red scroll has the words: urbs in horto. That’s Latin for city in a garden. Why do you suppose that motto was used for our city?
The municipal device is used in various ways unofficially around the city such as in architecture. Can you find some places where the municipal device is used in the city? One such place is in the marquis of the Chicago Theater. This design was created in 1892 for a contest by the Chicago Tribune and was included along with the flag and the seal as symbols of Chicago by city council in 1917. The municipal device represents the three branches of the Chicago River.
How do Chicago’s symbols compare with other symbols of cities in Illinois? In other American cities? In cities internationally?
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