Who designed the McDonald's restaurant with the original golden arches in Downey, California?

Stanley Clark Meston designed the McDonald’s restaurant with the original golden arches in Downey, California.

Meston was an architect who worked with the McDonald brothers on a highly recognizable restaurant design. The building used two large yellow arches as structural and decorative elements, making the restaurant visible to passing motorists.

The Downey site is important because it preserves the early McDonald’s architectural style. It is often called the oldest surviving McDonald’s restaurant, although the company’s first restaurant opened earlier in San Bernardino. The original arches were not initially conceived as the complete corporate logo. They became a powerful branding device only after the architectural form was simplified and adopted more broadly.