Which architect designed the original physical Golden Arches for McDonald's restaurants in the 1950s?

Stanley Clark Meston designed the original physical Golden Arches for McDonald’s restaurants in the 1950s.

Meston was an architect based in California who worked with McDonald’s to create a distinctive restaurant building. The design included tall yellow arches at the sides of the structure, making the restaurants visible from the road and giving the growing chain a consistent appearance.

The arches were initially architectural features rather than an abstract logo. Their bright color and large scale helped customers recognize McDonald’s locations before the modern corporate mark was standardized.

Jim Schindler later connected the two arch shapes in the 1962 logo. This is why Meston and Schindler are both associated with the Golden Arches, but their roles were different: Meston designed the buildings’ arches, while Schindler developed the joined emblem.