Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge to Shine the Colors of Old Glory in Honor of Flag Day

By M.C. Millman

The colors of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge will glow tonight in red, white, and blue to celebrate Flag Day. 

Flag Day, which takes place annually on June 14, was officially established in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson.

The President was marking the anniversary of the June 14, 1777 resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress stating that “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white,” and that “the Union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

The resolution united the colonists who until then had been fighting in the U.S. War of Independence against the British, each regiment under their own flag. When the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in June of 1775, the first “American” flag boasting the Continental Colors was created.

Lighting the bridge on Flag Day is an action authorized by the Thruway Authority, which utilizes decorative lighting schemes across the bridge on holidays, celebrations, and for patriotic reminders such as on Memorial Day and Flag Day.