Who designed the first McDonald's restaurant with the distinctive Golden Arches in Downey, California?

Stanley Clark Meston designed the first McDonald’s restaurant with the distinctive Golden Arches in Downey, California.

Meston was an architect who worked with McDonald’s operators Richard and Maurice McDonald on the chain’s early restaurant design. The Downey location opened in 1953 and used two large yellow arches as prominent roadside features.

The arches were intended to make the restaurant visible to passing motorists, not initially to serve as a standalone corporate logo. Their bright color and repeated shape helped create a recognizable architectural identity.

Jim Schindler later transformed the two separate arches into the interlocking “M” used in McDonald’s branding. This distinction explains why Meston is credited with the building design while Schindler is associated with the logo form.