Which city opened the first McDonald’s restaurant to use the Golden Arches design?

Phoenix, Arizona, opened the first McDonald’s restaurant to use the Golden Arches design.

The restaurant opened in 1953 and was designed by architect Stanley Clark Meston, working with assistant Charles Fishman. The building used two large yellow arches on opposite sides of the structure. Viewed from an angle, the arches created the distinctive visual form that later became McDonald’s best-known symbol.

The arches were initially architectural features rather than the fully abstract logo seen on modern signs and packaging. As McDonald’s expanded, the company simplified and combined the shapes, turning the building’s roadside design into a portable corporate mark.

The Phoenix restaurant is often confused with the first McDonald’s location in San Bernardino, California. San Bernardino was the site of the McDonald brothers’ original restaurant, but Phoenix is associated with the first Golden Arches building design.