Which McDonald's symbol began as paired arches on restaurant buildings before becoming a logo?

The Golden Arches began as paired arches on McDonald's restaurant buildings before becoming a logo.

Architect Stanley Clark Meston designed the distinctive arches for the McDonald brothers' restaurants in the 1950s. The arches were intended to make the buildings visible from the road and to give the restaurants a recognizable roadside profile.

In 1962, designer Jim Schindler combined the arches into the M-shaped emblem used in McDonald's branding. This transformation turned a structural feature into a portable corporate mark that could appear on signs, packaging, and advertising.

The Golden Arches are often described as a logo from the beginning, but their history is architectural first. That origin explains why the symbol is called “arches” even though modern viewers usually see a single stylized M.