Is This a Real McDonald's Sign with Only One Arch?

Claim:

Some McDonald's locations features sign with a single golden arch instead of the usual two.

Rating:

True

About this rating

For some years, social media users have been sharing pictures and various videos of McDonald's single-arched signs. 

Some even added that the single-arched sign also featured an image of Speedee (the first McDonald's mascot). McDonald's restaurants are recognized the world over for the double "golden arches" incorporated into their signage and/or architecture. Although it might seem improbable, McDonald's signs with one arch exist as well, and here's why.

prior to renovation, this single-arched sign also featured an image of speedee, implying that this sign was crafted in tribute to the original single-arch design of mcdonald's restaurants (pictured right). their relation to this location in montrose, however, remains unknown. pic.twitter.com/jdlEDPETc5

— nonstandard mcdonald's (@nonstandardmcd) May 26, 2021

Although the Golden Arches remain the symbol of McDonald's, some signs still might feature the older version. Investigating the case, we found a Google Maps image from a McDonald's restaurant in Montrose captured in 2012 that featured an image of Speedee, even though the character was officially dropped in 1962 when market research showed that people identified McDonald's mainly with the golden arches.

The official McDonald's website offers information on the world's oldest operating McDonald's. "From the fishbowl-style kitchen to the sixty-foot, single-arch 'Speedee' street sign, see for yourself how McDonald's became the fan favorite it is today," the description states. The famous arch actually originated from the fact that "the roof line was a bit too flat and Dick McDonald added arches to the building." In fact, only years later, McDonald's introduced their famous logo known as the Golden Arches. Nowadays, only a few locations with the single-arched version are reported to be found in the whole world.

An adapted Mansard Roof of remodeled Red & White building 1970 features a traditional Speedee road sign (McDonald's website).

This is not the first time we have fact-checked stories about McDonald's. In April 2014, we debunked false rumors that an Oklahoma City McDonald's outlet was caught with horse meat and human meat in their freezers. In 2020, we proved that McDonald's did not remove American flags from its restaurants nationwide in order to support antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement. At the beginning of 2022, we fact-checked rumors that McDonald's put up a billboard reading "Hey Crypto Bro's, We Are Hiring," which also turned out to be false.