Ask a city-dweller what best represents Rochester, and you may hear garbage plates orchicken French, Kodak or Xerox, even good old Genesee Beer. But the easiest answer is perhaps less obvious: the Flower City mark. That five-petaledsigil has become such an ingrained local icon that it can easily be overlooked,placed everywhere from the shoulder patches of Rochester police officers to murals,trash cans, city vehicles and inked into every other Rochesterians’ skin. The mark is a symbol meant to represent both a waterwheel and a flower,in homage to Rochester’s dual homonyms: its past life as the Flour City, and its currentas the Flower City. The symbol was designed by the city’s first graphic designer, LeeGreen, in 1976 under an initiative modeled after the Nixon-era Federal Design Improvement Program. “The idea was to create something that was cohesive, something that would havemeaning, something that would be telegraphic and function well as an identifier and amark,” Green said. “And that was really the goal, if you will, in creating the mark. Iwasn’t thinking about what was going to happen 50 years later.” That program also birthed official logos across the country, meant to encapsulate anorganization or municipality’s identity and branding. Perhaps the most well-known logoborn from that program was NASA’s “worm” design. But cities across the country alsogot in on the action. Most, if not all, cities that adopted marks in that era no longer prominently use them. Butin Rochester, the mark has become an increasingly enduring identifier. For Nate Miller, assistant digital media specialist at the city, its prevalence makes themark something unique. Miller has worked archiving the use of the mark and its historyand said he could not find another example of a city still prominently using a mark likeRochester’s. “It’s such a simple, timeless, beautiful design,” Miller said. “It’s so adaptable. It’s soscalable. People started using it almost immediately. And fast forward to now, I think weall see ourselves in it, and it is unique.” Miller has also helped produce a documentary on the mark, which will be first aired at aspecial screening at The Little Theatre in late May. The film will then be publiclyscreened at Flower Fest, a celebration of the golden anniversary of the mark. The one-day event is planned for June 6 on the Pont de Rennes bridge in the High FallsDistrict. The festival will boast a market for artists selling city mark-adorned wares, acontinuous airing of a documentary on the origin and history of the mark and a citymark-themed drone show. The festival will be organized by Bella Events Group through a $100,000 contract with the city, approved in March by the Rochester City Council. The Flower Fest plans to feature tattoo artists on the bridge among its artisans. “I want to know when we started seeing tattoos, when people really began to associatethemselves with it, and not just as a city mark,” said Barbara Pierce, communicationsand special events director for the city. “If you’re out in a Florida beach somewhere, andsomebody sees that mark, it’s like, ‘Hey, Rochester!’ It’s like the Bills logo, and you’reyelling, ‘Go Bills.’” Green, who worked at the city for about four years before moving onto a career withIBM, also found the tattooing of the mark somewhat of a surprise. “Years ago, I presented at conferences, and I’d have young folks come up to me, andthe conferences had nothing to do with the city of Rochester, because I worked for IBMafter that,” Green said. “But they had tattoos of the city mark on their arms, and it wasjust… It was kind of bizarre, really, but at the same time, kind of cool.” The symbol is a registered trademark of the city of Rochester, and the city has legallychallenged people who have used it without their consent. Pierce said the city tries tokeep the cost to use the symbol low. For commercial use, rights to the symbol cost$100 per year. For non-profits, it’s $50 per year. “It’s pretty much nothing in the scheme of trademarks,” she said. Pierce added that 254 rights to the city mark have been granted. The Flower Fest is another step in a series of actions taken by the city to capitalize on the mark. Last year, the city moved to change its official flag — a tri-colored yellow, white and blue banner featuring the coat of arms of Nathaniel Rochester and a crane at its center—with a blue flag with a Flower City mark. That news came as a bit of a surprise to many Rochesterians. The official flag,designed in 1934, was rarely displayed publicly and relatively unknown. Meanwhile, theFlower City mark had already served as the official symbol on city vehicles andbuildings for years. It is a somewhat unique phenomenon: in the realm of municipal governments, mayoraladministrations tend to change visuals when they come into office. But the Flower Citymark has endured. Just why it stuck is a mystery. Green and Miller both pointed to the simplicity of thedesign, its connection to the city’s history, its versatility and elegance and just thesimple fact that it looks cool. Green is certain of one thing, however. “I can absolutely guarantee you that when I designed that mark, its application as atattoo was not part of my criteria,” Green said. “I mean, it’s funny and it speaks volumes,really, in many ways.” More info here. Editor’s Note: WXXI, the parent company of CITY and The Little Theatre, provided prodcution support for the aforementioned documentary. Gino Fanelli is an investigative reporter for WXXI News. You can reach him at [email protected]. The post The iconic City of Rochester mark now has its own festival and documentary appeared first on CITY Magazine. 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