Two Centuries of U.S. Flags on Exhibit at the Presidio

Presidio of San Francisco (January 10, 2003) — Two centuries of historically significant U.S. flags will be on display at the Presidio beginning January 14 at 10 am in the Officers’ Club. Admission is free. The Presidio Officers’ Club is located on the Main Post at 50 Moraga Avenue.

The 110-flag collection was brought to the Presidio by Ben Zaricor, the Chief Executive Officer of Good Earth Teas, who has collected 1,500 flags€”the largest set in the world. On Tuesday, a huge 17-foot, U.S. flag will be raised at Pershing Square in the Presidio heralding the exhibition.

The flags tell stories of significant moments in American history. Visitors will be able to see an original 13-star flag from the Federalist era of 1800; a flag that flew at Appomattox, when the Confederacy surrendered is on display; the U.S. Navy Union Jack which flew over Japanese territory in 1944 during World War II, is also on exhibition.

More than any other people, Americans paint the spirit of their lives in their national flag. The passions of politics and patriotism, in times of peace and war, are strikingly expressed in these banners. Independence, territorial acquisition, the “westward course of empire,” slavery and abolition – these and a myriad of other issues have been translated into graphic form by those who made these flags and those who flew them.

Entitled “Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict,” the exhibit is open through February 16 from Tuesday through Sunday.