Who designed the Golden Arches for McDonald’s first purpose-built restaurant buildings?

Stanley Clark Meston designed the Golden Arches for McDonald’s first purpose-built restaurant buildings.

Meston was an architect who worked with McDonald’s in the early 1950s, when the company was developing a recognizable restaurant format for expansion. The arches were originally large yellow structural features placed at the sides of the building, designed to be visible to passing motorists.

The architectural arches later became a simplified corporate symbol. In 1962, the company adopted a logo based on the arches, turning a building feature into one of the world’s most recognizable brand marks.

A common mix-up is crediting Ray Kroc with designing the arches. Kroc helped expand McDonald’s nationally after acquiring the franchise rights, but Meston created the architectural design. Jim Schindler is associated with the later logo treatment, not the original building design.