<P> In 1952, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald decided they needed a new building to house their hamburger restaurant in San Bernardino, California . They wanted this building to have an entirely new design which would achieve two goals: even greater efficiency, and an eye - catching appearance . They interviewed at least four architects altogether, finally choosing Stanley Clark Meston, an architect practicing in nearby Fontana, in late 1952 . The arches had a direct bearing on the interviewing process and their choice of Meston: the first architect they interviewed objected to the arches the brothers wanted; a second wanted to change the arches; a third, prominent Los Angeles architect Douglas Honnold, said that if the brothers were going to tell him what to do they would be better off doing it themselves . </P> <P> Along with their practical knowledge, the brothers brought Meston a rough sketch of two half - circle arches drawn by Richard . The idea of an arch had struck Richard as a memorable shape to make their stand more visible . After considering one arch parallel to the front of the building, he had sketched two half - circles on either side of the stand . Meston, together with his assistant Charles Fish, responded with a design which included two 25 - foot (7.6 m) yellow sheet - metal arches trimmed in neon, called "golden arches" even at the design stage . His design also included a third, smaller arch sign at the roadside with a pudgy character in a chef's hat, known as Speedee, striding across the top, trimmed in animated neon . </P> <P> According to architectural historian Alan Hess, "Meston and Fish turned the crude half - circle suggested by Richard McDonald's sketch into a tapered, sophisticated parabola, with tense, springing lines conveying movement and energy ." In the same article Hess added this footnote: "Who first suggested the parabola is unclear . Richard McDonald and George Dexter, the sign contractor who fabricated the first arches, recalled that Dexter came up with the idea and added them to the plans . Charles Fish, who did the working drawings and aided Meston in the design, attributes the idea to his familiarity with the form from a school project in which he used structural parabolas for a hangar . The form was one of many advanced engineering solutions, including folded plate roofs, that were in common currency ." </P> <P> The first franchised outlet bearing Meston's design opened in May 1953 in Phoenix, Arizona . Subsequent franchisees of the McDonald brothers were also required to use Meston's design, although Meston adapted the plans for each to the conditions and building codes of each site . </P>

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