Who designed the original McDonald's restaurant building with its famous yellow arches?

Stanley Meston designed the original McDonald's restaurant building with its famous yellow arches.

Meston was an architect associated with the restaurant's early visual form. His design used large yellow arches rising from the sides of the building, making the restaurants visible to passing motorists. The structure helped turn architecture into a practical advertising device before the arches became the company's standalone logo.

The building's red-and-yellow color scheme and sloping roof contributed to the recognizable roadside identity of early McDonald's restaurants. These features supported the brand's emphasis on speed, visibility, and consistency across locations.

Jim Schindler is often named in the same discussion because he adapted the architectural arches into the Golden Arches logo in 1962. Meston's role was architectural design; Schindler's was the later graphic-logo adaptation. They are related but distinct branding achievements.