The McDonald's restaurant design featuring two yellow arches and created by architect Stanley Meston was the Golden Arches.
Stanley Meston designed the distinctive arches for the McDonald brothers' new restaurant building in Downey, California, in the 1950s. The large yellow forms were intended to be visible from the road and to make the building stand out to motorists.
The arches began as architecture rather than as a corporate logo. Their strong silhouette later inspired the Golden Arches symbol used by McDonald's, showing how a building feature became a global branding device.
The Downey restaurant is often described as the oldest surviving McDonald's restaurant building, although the company distinguishes between historic sites and operating restaurants. The arches should also be separated from the Speedee Service System, which described kitchen and service methods rather than a building design.