Stanley Meston designed the McDonald's restaurant building whose arches inspired later branding.
Meston was an architect from Southern California who worked with Richard and Maurice McDonald on the design of their new restaurant format. The building used tall yellow arches at the sides, creating a highly visible roadside silhouette that could be recognized by passing motorists.
Those architectural arches came before the familiar logo. In 1962, McDonald's designer Jim Schindler adapted the two arches into the overlapping form associated with the letter M. This is why Meston and Schindler are both important to the history of the Golden Arches, but for different parts of the story.
The original building was associated with McDonald's restaurant in Downey, California, which opened in 1953. It is commonly discussed as the oldest surviving McDonald's restaurant and is preserved as a museum site. The building's design helped turn architecture into a lasting piece of corporate branding.