The Golden Arches were the McDonald's symbol used in the chain's 1962 logo.
The arches originated as bright yellow structural features on McDonald's restaurant buildings. Their roadside form made restaurants easy to spot, especially in an era when many customers arrived by car. By 1962, the company had turned those architectural elements into a graphic mark by joining them into an M-shaped symbol.
That transition was important in branding history because it separated the symbol from any single building. The arches could be printed on signs, cups, wrappers, advertisements, and other materials, allowing the company to present a consistent identity as it expanded.
The term “Golden Arches” refers to the arches themselves, not to Ronald McDonald or the Speedee character. The logo's exact colors and surrounding layouts have changed at different times, but the yellow arches remain the central visual shorthand for the McDonald's name.