Who designed the distinctive 1950s McDonald’s restaurant buildings with their large yellow arches?

Stanley Clark Meston designed the distinctive 1950s McDonald’s buildings with their large yellow arches.

Meston was an architect based in California who worked with the McDonald brothers and signage expert Charles Fish. Their restaurant design used two tall, curved arches positioned at opposite sides of the building. The arches were visible from the road and helped the restaurants stand out in the growing automobile-oriented landscape of the 1950s.

Ray Kroc later recognized that the arches had strong visual value as McDonald’s expanded through franchising. In 1962, the arches were combined into the familiar “M” symbol by designer Jim Schindler. Meston and Schindler therefore have different roles: Meston designed the architectural arches, while Schindler adapted them into a corporate logo.

The arches became more than decoration. They linked the restaurant buildings, roadside visibility, and the company’s later worldwide visual identity.