Downey McDonald's is the oldest surviving McDonald's building with the original golden arches.
The restaurant in Downey, California, opened in 1953 and retains the distinctive twin-arched design associated with early McDonald's architecture. It was operated by Roger Williams and Burdette Landon, franchisees who opened the location soon after the McDonald brothers began franchising their concept.
The arches were not initially just a flat corporate logo. They were large architectural features incorporated into the restaurant's roadside design, helping motorists recognize the building from a distance. The surviving Downey site is important because it preserves that earlier form.
The San Bernardino site is historically significant as the McDonald brothers' original restaurant location, but the Downey building is the oldest surviving example with the arches. The Des Plaines site is a later reconstruction of an early McDonald's restaurant.