Extending upward from a point at the top of the letter "C" and spaced equally from its center line shall be a cluster of five buckeye leaves in red.

[2] On November 23, 1895, The Cincinnati Times-Star ran an editorial proposing a contest to choose a flag for the city, offering a $50 prize (equivalent to $1,831 in 2023).

[3][7][8] A German immigrant, Rothengatter was a foreman at Russell Morgan Lithographing Company and an influential designer of circus posters during the heyday of that genre.

Cleveland had recently adopted a municipal flag, only to see it immediately trademarked by a cigar manufacturer; the Enquirer warned that a brewery intended to do likewise in Cincinnati.

[13] A fact that went unreported in the Enquirer was that, on the day of the flag's selection, the Times-Star editor, Rep. Charles Phelps Taft, had Congress grant the city exclusive rights to the design.

[5] There was still some measure of support for the flag: within the month, Reds manager Frank Bancroft ordered a set for League Park.

[16][17] The municipal flag would not be formally adopted until June 15, 1940,[2][3] as City Ordinance 181-1940, upon the suggestion of Mayor James Garfield Stewart.

[20][21] In 2016, fans of the soccer club FC Cincinnati began using blue and orange variants of the flag to show support for the team.