McDonald's opened the first restaurant featuring its modern Golden Arches design in 1953.
The restaurant was built in Downey, California, after the McDonald brothers developed a new architectural identity for their expanding hamburger business. The large yellow arches were incorporated into the building itself, making the restaurant visible from a distance and giving the brand a distinctive roadside landmark.
The arches were initially architectural elements rather than the fully simplified logo used worldwide today. Their later transformation into the familiar letter-like emblem helped make the symbol more portable across signs, packaging, advertising, and restaurant interiors.
The Downey building is commonly called the oldest surviving McDonald's restaurant. It should not be confused with the first McDonald's restaurant, which opened in San Bernardino in 1940, or with the later 1962 simplification of the arches into a logo.