Stanley Meston created the original McDonald’s restaurant building design featuring the distinctive paired arches.
Meston was an architect hired to design a highly visible restaurant for Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California. The 1952 design used large yellow arches on opposite sides of the building, making the restaurant recognizable to passing motorists. The arches were architectural features before they became a corporate logo.
The design reflected the roadside environment of postwar American dining. Bright color, strong geometric forms, and a low building profile helped the restaurant stand out from a distance. The visual idea later became more important than the building itself.
Meston is often confused with Jim Schindler. Meston designed the original physical arches, while Schindler adapted the paired-arch concept into the modern Golden Arches logo in 1962. Ray Kroc, meanwhile, was the businessman who helped expand McDonald’s nationally through franchising.