In 1913, the City Council authorized the City Clerk to invite design submissions for an official seal through Resolution 12752. The previous seal depicted an outdated cityscape. The winning design was the work of architect Carleton Monroe Winslow (1876-1946), who later went on to design several buildings for the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park and the Bishop's School in La Jolla. The new seal was officially adopted through Resolution 17024 on April 15, 1914.