Which McDonald's logo element was inspired by the arches on the chain's early restaurants?

The Golden Arches logo element was inspired by the arches on McDonald's early restaurants.

The original restaurant buildings used large yellow arches as prominent architectural features. These arches were visible from the road and helped distinguish McDonald's locations in the growing roadside restaurant market.

In 1962, designer Jim Schindler combined the two architectural forms into a stylized “M.” The resulting logo preserved the buildings' visual idea while turning it into a portable corporate mark that could appear on packaging, signs, advertisements, and uniforms.

The Golden Arches are therefore both an architectural reference and a piece of graphic branding. They are not the same thing as Speedee, the earlier mascot, although both belong to McDonald's early visual identity.