Which architect designed the original McDonald’s restaurant buildings featuring the famous arches?

Stanley Clark Meston designed the original McDonald’s restaurant buildings featuring the famous arches. His work helped give the growing chain a distinctive roadside appearance in the 1950s.

Meston developed the design for the McDonald brothers’ restaurant in San Bernardino, California, and for later locations. The buildings used tall yellow arches that extended above the roofline, making them easy for passing motorists to recognize.

The arches were initially part of the architecture rather than a standalone corporate logo. Their visual importance increased as McDonald’s expanded through franchising, and the form was later simplified into the Golden Arches symbol.

Ray Kroc is often associated with McDonald’s expansion, but he was not the architect who designed the original restaurant buildings. Jim Schindler, meanwhile, is associated with the later graphic logo adaptation.