Which 1950s McDonald's restaurant designer created the original architectural Golden Arches?

Stanley Clark Meston created the original architectural Golden Arches for McDonald's restaurants in the 1950s.

Meston was an architect associated with the distinctive restaurant design that used large yellow arches as roadside features. The arches were intended to make McDonald's buildings visible and memorable, especially to motorists approaching from a distance. At this stage, they were part of the building's architecture rather than the compact corporate logo used today.

The later logo developed from this architectural idea. In 1962, designer Jim Schindler combined the two arches into a single emblem. Because both men are connected with the arches, their roles are often mixed up: Meston created the physical restaurant design, while Schindler created the modern combined graphic symbol.

This transition from building feature to logo is an important chapter in McDonald's branding history. It shows how a practical roadside design element became a portable symbol used throughout the company's communications.