Who designed the distinctive golden arches for the McDonald's restaurant building in 1952?

Stanley Clark Meston designed McDonald's distinctive golden arches for the restaurant building in 1952.

Meston was an architect based in Fontana, California. McDonald's brothers Richard and Maurice wanted a highly visible building that could attract motorists, so the design included two large yellow arches on opposite sides of the restaurant. The arches were functional architectural features before they became a corporate symbol.

The arches were inspired partly by earlier restaurant signs and by the brothers' desire for a recognizable roadside image. They should not be confused with the later abstract golden-M logo, which evolved from the building design and was adopted in a different form during the 1960s. Ray Kroc was responsible for expanding the McDonald's system, but he did not design the original arches.