Who designed the McDonald’s Golden Arches used in the first restaurant buildings?

Architect Stanley Meston designed the Golden Arches used in McDonald’s early restaurant buildings.

In 1952, Richard and Maurice McDonald asked Meston to design a distinctive new restaurant in San Bernardino, California. The brothers wanted the building to be highly visible from the road, so Meston incorporated two large yellow arches into the structure.

The arches were originally architectural features placed at opposite sides of the building. Seen from an angle, they created a striking golden visual signature that helped motorists recognize the restaurant.

The arches later became a standalone corporate logo, especially after Jim Schindler combined them into the familiar “M” form in 1962. That change is why the structural arches and the modern logo are often treated as if they were created at the same time.