Which visual symbol did McDonald's first use on its restaurant buildings in 1953?

McDonald's first used the Golden Arches on its restaurant buildings in 1953.

Architect Stanley Clark Meston designed the new restaurant buildings for McDonald's in California, working with signs suggested by restaurant operator Richard McDonald. The design used two large yellow arches, one at each side of the building, to make the restaurants visible from the road.

The arches initially functioned as architectural features and roadside signs rather than as a standalone letter. When viewed from an angle, however, the paired shapes created a distinctive visual identity. McDonald's later simplified them into the familiar arches logo.

A common mix-up is assuming that the Golden Arches began as the company's modern logo. Their first role was physical architecture in the early 1950s; the recognizable single-M emblem developed later as the company standardized its branding.