Who designed the original McDonald's Golden Arches restaurant structures in 1952?

Stanley Clark Meston designed the original McDonald's Golden Arches restaurant structures in 1952.

Meston was an architect working with McDonald's operators Richard and Maurice McDonald as they developed a more recognizable restaurant building. The arches were conceived as large architectural forms on opposite sides of the building, visible from the road and intended to attract passing motorists.

The arches later became more than building decoration. In 1962, the company combined the two shapes into the stylized golden “M” associated with McDonald's. That later logo is often mistakenly credited entirely to the original architect, although its graphic development was a separate step.

The Golden Arches are therefore both an architectural feature and a corporate symbol. Their roadside visibility helped McDonald's build a consistent identity as it expanded beyond its original California locations.