The Davis Centennial Seal was installed May 25, 2021, in front of the Dresbach-Hunt-Boyer House at 604 Second St in downtown Davis. 

The Seal celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 1917 incorporation of the city Davis.  It is a 6.5-foot circular bronze seal designed by Davis artist Susan Shelton, surrounded by landscaping and commemorative bricks.

“The Centennial Seal tells an amazing story about the Davis community — who we were, who we are, and who we aspire to be. It creates an important focal point in our downtown, and hopefully one that continues to draw people together.” - Mayor Gloria Partida 

Read the full, detailed Davis Enterprise article about the Davis Seal's creation and meaning by Wendy Weitzel, June 21, 2021, HERE

About the Seal from the Artist, Susan Shelton

Conceptual Design: 

The overall design concept of the Davis Centennial Seal is one that endeavors to represent 
our city in a multi-faceted way, one that tells the story of our early history and illustrates the 
convergence of circumstances and events that resulted in the city’s founding and 
incorporation. Beyond depicting our early history, the seal illustrates our history and 
development over the century through the exploration of themes that connect us to our past, 
themes that have endured and that are integral to our identity as a proud, forward-thinking, and 
idealistic city.  These themes include: Aspiration, Community, Cooperation, Leadership, 
Innovation, Engagement, Global Citizenship, Stewardship, Vision, Optimism. 

Design Framework and Viewer Orientation: 

The seal design is circular and its framework is suggestive of a bicycle wheel, in 
acknowledgement of Davis’ official symbol. There is a central image surrounded by two 
concentric rings, and a total of ten panels radiating out from the inner rings and defined by the 
“spokes” of the wheel. The wheel is completed by two outer rings.  

In terms of viewing the seal, there is one element indicative of a top and bottom orientation: the 
words, “City of DAVIS”, together with the image of fields and a hawk in flight. Otherwise, 
throughout the seal, the imagery is oriented in such a way that invites the viewer to walk in a 
circular pattern to read the images and engage with the telling of the Davis story. The 
chronology of the historical rings proceeds in a clockwise direction beginning at “7 o’clock”. 

Imagery and Symbolism: 

Central Image:  
The image at the center of the seal can be thought of as “Crossroads”, the convergence of 
geographical and infrastructural elements that are at the core of our founding and development 
as a city. The intersecting lines represent: Putah Creek (north and south forks), the Railroad, 
the Lincoln Highway, Interstate 80, and Highway 113. Putah Creek and the floodplains 
associated with it created the rich soil that attracted settlers, ranchers, and farmers to the area.  
The railroad was pivotal in the decision to establish the University State Farm in Davis, which 
later became UC Davis, a critical entity in our city. In addition, the railroad has been of great 
importance commercially and politically throughout our history.  The Lincoln Hwy and Interstate 
80 represent our physical connection to the West and to Sacramento, and, importantly, the 
extraordinary and far-reaching influence our city has had as a result of our proximity to the seat 
of State Government.  The highways also represent our historical and enduring relationship 
with the other cities and entities of Yolo County.   

Inner Ring: 
Proceeding in a clockwise direction, the images in the inner ring tell the story of the early 
history of our area. The narrative begins with a portrayal of the original Patwin people, 
members of the Wintun Nation. They were hunters and gatherers who had permanent villages 
of earth-covered domes established along Putah Creek, living in harmony with the earth until 
their population was devastated by diseases brought by Europeans. The images illustrate that 
the first pioneers were trappers hunting for beaver, fox, and otter. They came to the region 
during the eras of Spanish and Mexican Sovereignty, and these eras are represented by the 
Coat of Arms of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Coat of Arms of newly independent 
Mexico. The depiction of an official emblem of the Mexican government is particularly 
important because some of the most prominent original settlers of our area received Mexican 
Land Grants, settlers including Bidwell, Chiles, Vaca, Peña, and Wolfskill. Some of these 
influential settlers came to the area by wagon train, as portrayed in the imagery. The early 
settlers were ranchers and farmers, and the transformation of the landscape is apparent in the 
image of a homestead and farm. This image is adapted from a historical drawing of the farm of 
Jerome Davis, who is the namesake of our city, and whose original farm is now part of the UC 
Davis campus.  The final image in the inner ring is the Great Seal of California, our region 
having become part of the United States. The seal is framed by a branch of the Valley Oak 
tree on one side, representing the original landscape and livelihood of the indigenous people. 
On the other side is a branch of the olive tree, one of the agricultural species introduced by our 
early farmers. Both trees continue to grace our landscape, and serve as inspirational symbols 
of strength and peace.  

The inner ring, therefore, is one depicting great change—a devastation of an ancient people 
and culture, an immigration of white settlers, a change in landscape and livelihood in the 
region, and a transition through four eras of sovereignty: Indian (considered ongoing) Spanish, 
Mexican, and American.  

Second Ring: 
The imagery and narrative of the second ring tells the story of the founding of Davisville and its early development, ending with the incorporation of the City of Davis.  The story is told in a similar lyrical way as in the inner ring of early history.  Images include the Davis Arch, the Pacific Railroad Line established in 1868, Davis Junction original building and/or Spanish-style depot 
built in 1914,  boats rowing across wetlands to Sacramento, the newly built Yolo Causeway 1915, early farms, cattle ranches, and crops, the “Purple Circle” - the fire of 1916, and  the vote to incorporate in 1917.

Intersecting Panels:  
The second ring is intersected by two of the ten radiating panels framed by the “spokes” of the 
wheel, and they extend from the inner ring to the outermost ring. These two panels contain 
imagery with multiple facets of symbolism in the seal narrative. In relation to the central image, 
they represent the Pacific Flyway, another element of the “crossroads” that is integral to the 
city’s development, vision, and sense of place. The panel with the words, City of Davis, 
features an image of radiating fields, symbolizing our city’s agricultural beginnings, and, in 
partnership with the university, its enduring leadership in the field of agriculture. It also 
represents the long-term goal of protecting agricultural land in our city’s planning and 
conservation. In addition to representing the Pacific Flyway, the bird in flight is an aspirational 
symbol taken from a poem by the late Herbert Bauer, who was known as the “Conscience of 
Davis”. The poem encourages us to pursue peace and to “Fly high as [our] Latin rhyme, Avis”.  
The companion intersecting panel representing the Pacific Flyway features the wetlands and 
migrating waterfowl.  Not only does this imagery connect us to the original natural landscape of 
our region, it also represents the vision, planning, and stewardship of our citizens and 
government in establishing the North and West Davis ponds as habitat for migrating birds 
within the city. Furthermore, the creation of the Yolo Bypass Widlife Area, the product of 
cooperation between various interest groups, and county, state, and federal governments, is a 
stellar example of the leadership and impact of Davis’ many dedicated and visionary citizens. 

Radiating Panels: 
The imagery in the 8 remaining outer panels that radiate from the inner rings illustrate our development as a city after incorporation through the exploration of themes that tie us back to our beginnings and extend to the present day and into the future. For example, the themes of Leadership, Vision, Stewardship, Cooperation, and Aspiration are illustrated in the two panels described above, and these themes continue to be represented throughout, along with others, such as Community, Innovation, Leadership, Engagement, Global Citizenship, and Optimism. 

Penultimate Ring: 
The second to last ring features various plants and animals of Putah Creek. This imagery 
honors the indigenous people and original natural landscape of our region, and it celebrates 
the restoration of the creek. The fertility of the land surrounding Putah Creek was the reason 
the original homesteaders established their farms in this area, but the creek was later dammed 
to prevent flooding, and it eventually went dry. As a result of the stewardship and engagement 
of local citizens, many of them Davis residents, the dams were ultimately required by law to 
maintain natural stream flows, and the result has been a remarkable increase in various 
riparian species, including birds, beaver, and otter, and the return of spawning native 
Steelhead Trout and Chinook Salmon. This ring of the seal is interrupted by the two 
intersecting panels described above, and this interruption in the creek’s flow represents an 
important concept for an idealistic city: Sometimes we lose our way, as individuals, as 
societies, as cities, as nations. However, if we have Aspiration, if we have Community, if we 
have Engagement, if we have Leadership, we can find our way once again. 

Explore the Centennial Seal with UC Davis Design Student Media

Through a series of creative investigations including visiting the Centennial Seal, interviewing community partners, research, and more, UC Davis students in DES 157B (Interactive Media III) were challenged to conceive and build an interactive interpretive tool to enhance and inform the user experience. Students used data collection, storytelling, games, curricular support materials, scavenger hunts, and maps to make learning about Davis history fun and engaging for all ages.

Click here to view a showcase of the student projects from DES 157B, taught by Glenda Drew and Bill Mead. Learn more about the class here.

Projects by:

Rheiana Cuevas & Laura Yien, Erika Dimaano & Cindy Lee, Kestrel Hewson, Nguyen Ho & Jennifer Kim, Kim Hofmann & Jenni Ramos, Lauren Hong, Joanna Hu, Skylar Laroche, Brenda Padron (a fun, additional summer project, in addition to making the whole site!), Brenda Padron & Santoshi Ramanathan, Satomi Richardson, Kaelyn Syrdahl (coming soon), Mona Wang and Kristian Wilson.

LARISSA SACO, 2021 MPS SHOWCASE

City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs worked with Larissa Saco, a Mellon Public Scholar at UC Davis Humanities Institute, to create The Davis Centennial Seal Storytelling Project. Watch the video below for recorded interviews with local community members about the people, places, and events depicted in the Seal.

COLE MANLEY, 2022 MPS SHOWCASE

Arts & Cultural Affairs also worked with Cole Manley, a second Mellon Public Scholar at the UC Davis Humanities Institute, to further develop The Davis Centennial Seal Storytelling Project. Watch the video below for a description of Cole’s project, and read his essay on The Past, Present, and Future of the Davis Centennial Seal.

As part of ongoing efforts to create ways to connect with the many stories represented in the Seal, Cole developed curriculum to be used by local elementary and high school students and teachers to bring the stories to life, and provide context for better understanding our city’s past, and knowledge to imagine a better future.

Adopt-a-brick Program

The adopt-a-brick program continues to support the Centennial Seal project, where organizations or individuals can purchase an inlaid plaza brick with chosen inscriptions. The plaza includes space for more than 2,000 inscribed bricks. 100 historic bricks memorializing important figures who have died and large bricks for the 11 key donors were placed upon installation of the Seal.

Davis nonprofits: $25/brick

Individuals and Families: $150/brick

Email billroe@tandemproperties.com for brick purchases and more information

Thank you, community members, for your support:

A very special thank you to Bill and Nancy Roe for their contributions of time, organization, and funding.

Made possible with additional support from:

Jennifer Anderson and Doby Fleeman

Guneet and Bubly Bajwa

Manny and Debbie Carbahal

Camile Chan

Jim Gray and Robin Affrime

Carol and Gene Livingston

Foy and Barbara McNaughton

Roger and Claudia Salquist

Tandem Properties

Louise Walker of First Northern Bank

Reed and Susan Youmans

... and to businesses, families, and individuals who participated in the inscribed brick program