City of Five Flags was never official motto of Pensacola

Joe Vinson has written an informative column for Pensacola Today – “5 things to keep in mind
about Pensacola’s five flags.”

Vinson points out that the Pensacola City Council considered adopting the “City of Five Flags” motto twice and rejected it both times.

In February 1960, Calvin L. Todd, the former chamber president who came up with the Fiesta of Five Flags, wrote a letter to the city council suggesting, “…the City adopt the Five Flags crest as the City’s symbol and further, that this symbol be used on public buildings and vehicles as appropriate.”

City Manager Oliver J. Semmes Jr., was against placing any foreign flag on the official crest of the city: “I believe if there is any flag used, it should be that of the United States and that alone.”

The council agreed with Semmes.

The second vote came in 2013 and again the council rejected the moniker.