Waco's Flag Turns the Brazos and Bosque Into Parallel Lines

Waco's city flag builds its design from four local pieces: the Brazos River, the Bosque River, the Flying W, and the city's blue palette. Two parallel lines stand for the rivers. The Flying W serves as the main symbol, even though flag designers generally discourage lettering.

The flag it replaced centered on the Waco Suspension Bridge. Gwen Stewart, the original department chair of the Texas State Technical Institute's Commercial Arts and Advertising Program, designed that version. City records say it was chosen from hundreds of entries in November 1985 and served for more than three decades.

The contrast is a small lesson in civic shorthand. The old flag pictured a landmark. The newer one turns two waterways into stripes and one letter into a city mark. A flagpole can carry Waco's river geography without trying to draw a map.