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McDonald's Sign (Pine Bluff, Arkansas)
Encyclopedia
The McDonald's Sign, also known as McDonald's Store #433 Sign, in Pine Bluff
, Arkansas
, United States
, is the only known surviving example of a single-arch McDonald's
sign in Arkansas. The sign was erected in 1962 and remained at its original location until 2007. In 2007 McDonald's Store #433 moved and the sign was renovated and moved to the new location. The McDonald's sign was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
in 2006.
was constructed at 1300 South Main Street in 1962 and followed the standard corporate design for the era: a red, white and yellow motif with arch
es projecting through the roof. Owned by Mike Retzer.
McDonald's Store #433 opened on July 3, 1962, and remained in operation until it was announced in August 2007 that the store would close by the end of the year. A new location was constructed in the 2800 block of South Olive Street, about two miles from the original location. Initially, it was unknown what the sign's fate would be; by September, it was announced that the sign would move to the new location.
As the date of closure approached in September the sign was dismantled and transported to Skylite Sign & Neon in Mabelvale, Arkansas, for renovation work which lasted through October 2007.
. The design featured in Pine Bluff was used for one year and was relatively rare even when it was being used, even more so today. The first double golden arches sign appeared just three months after the Pine Bluff store opened.
The Pine Bluff sign has several features which are typical of the single-arch style from the early years of McDonald's. They are generally back-lit and made up of plastic panels situated in a metal frame. The single golden arch and red advertising space midway up the sign are hallmarks of the single-arch style McDonald's sign found in Pine Bluff. The sign was manufactured by Sign Crafters of Evansville, Indiana
and the plastic sheeting was made by Rohm & Haas Company
of Philadelphia.
The design of the single-arch McDonald's sign was heavily influenced by an image of the McDonald family
crest shown to Ray Kroc
. Kroc then decided to incorporate the crest into the road sign. The arch itself evokes modernism
. In Orange Roofs, Golden Arches: The Architecture of American Chain Restaurants Phillip Langdon stated the arch was symbolic of a: "buoyant spirit: a feeling of skyward momentum, symbolic of an aerospace age in which man could hurtle himself into the heavens." Langdon goes on to state that the purpose of the McDonald's arch was to bring a sense of structural modernism in a roadside hamburger stand.
The U.S. National Register of Historic Places
added the Pine Bluff McDonald's sign to its listings on August 21, 2006, as McDonald's Store #433 Sign. As the only known surviving example of an early single arch McDonald's sign anywhere in the state of Arkansas, the Pine Bluff sign has statewide significance. McDonald's has used a variety of designs for its signs; consequently, early examples are exceedingly rare. The sign in Pine Bluff is also a good example of a rare early back lit plastic sign. Back lit plastic signs were popularized post-World War II and revolutionized the sign industry through the 1950s and 60s.
It remains unclear exactly how many single-arch McDonald's signs remain nationwide. Prior to Hurricane Katrina
in 2005, one was still in use in Biloxi, Mississippi
. The store on MacArthur Boulevard in Springfield, Illinois
also had a single arch up until 2006. Others exist in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
, Magnolia, New Jersey
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60134310@N00/64796437/, Green Bay, Wisconsin
http://www.flickr.com/photos/creativepd/3627439063/, St Clair Shores, Michigan,Huntsville, Alabama and Independence, Missouri. The sign in Pine Bluff is the only such sign that has its own listing on the National Register, though a few others may exist as contributing properties within historic districts. It is likely that the majority of single-arch signs were incorporated into private collections and it is rare to see them in use.
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is the only known surviving example of a single-arch McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
sign in Arkansas. The sign was erected in 1962 and remained at its original location until 2007. In 2007 McDonald's Store #433 moved and the sign was renovated and moved to the new location. The McDonald's sign was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2006.
History
Before McDonald's Store #433 was built on South Main Street in Pine Bluff, the neighborhood was mostly residential. The area began to change as the mid-20th century approached and commercial enterprises began to appear in the area. The McDonald'sMcDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
was constructed at 1300 South Main Street in 1962 and followed the standard corporate design for the era: a red, white and yellow motif with arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es projecting through the roof. Owned by Mike Retzer.
McDonald's Store #433 opened on July 3, 1962, and remained in operation until it was announced in August 2007 that the store would close by the end of the year. A new location was constructed in the 2800 block of South Olive Street, about two miles from the original location. Initially, it was unknown what the sign's fate would be; by September, it was announced that the sign would move to the new location.
As the date of closure approached in September the sign was dismantled and transported to Skylite Sign & Neon in Mabelvale, Arkansas, for renovation work which lasted through October 2007.
Design
The McDonald's sign in Pine Bluff represents a transition between the "Speedee" sign and the now-ubiquitous double golden archesGolden Arches
The Golden Arches are the symbol of McDonald's, the global fast-food hamburger chain. Originally, real arches were part of the restaurant design...
. The design featured in Pine Bluff was used for one year and was relatively rare even when it was being used, even more so today. The first double golden arches sign appeared just three months after the Pine Bluff store opened.
The Pine Bluff sign has several features which are typical of the single-arch style from the early years of McDonald's. They are generally back-lit and made up of plastic panels situated in a metal frame. The single golden arch and red advertising space midway up the sign are hallmarks of the single-arch style McDonald's sign found in Pine Bluff. The sign was manufactured by Sign Crafters of Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
and the plastic sheeting was made by Rohm & Haas Company
Rohm and Haas
Rohm and Haas Company, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based company, manufactures miscellaneous materials. Formerly a Fortune 500 Company, Rohm and Haas employs more than 17,000 people in 27 countries, with its last sales revenue reported as an independent company at USD 8.9 billion. On July 10,...
of Philadelphia.
The design of the single-arch McDonald's sign was heavily influenced by an image of the McDonald family
Dick and Mac McDonald
Richard James "Dick" McDonald and his brother, Maurice James "Mac" McDonald were early American fast food pioneers, who established the first McDonald's restaurant at West 14th Street and 1398 North E Street in San Bernardino, California in 1948...
crest shown to Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc
Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was an American fast food businessman who joined McDonald's in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a fortune during his lifetime...
. Kroc then decided to incorporate the crest into the road sign. The arch itself evokes modernism
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
. In Orange Roofs, Golden Arches: The Architecture of American Chain Restaurants Phillip Langdon stated the arch was symbolic of a: "buoyant spirit: a feeling of skyward momentum, symbolic of an aerospace age in which man could hurtle himself into the heavens." Langdon goes on to state that the purpose of the McDonald's arch was to bring a sense of structural modernism in a roadside hamburger stand.
Historic significance
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
added the Pine Bluff McDonald's sign to its listings on August 21, 2006, as McDonald's Store #433 Sign. As the only known surviving example of an early single arch McDonald's sign anywhere in the state of Arkansas, the Pine Bluff sign has statewide significance. McDonald's has used a variety of designs for its signs; consequently, early examples are exceedingly rare. The sign in Pine Bluff is also a good example of a rare early back lit plastic sign. Back lit plastic signs were popularized post-World War II and revolutionized the sign industry through the 1950s and 60s.
It remains unclear exactly how many single-arch McDonald's signs remain nationwide. Prior to Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in 2005, one was still in use in Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
. The store on MacArthur Boulevard in Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
also had a single arch up until 2006. Others exist in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
, Magnolia, New Jersey
Magnolia, New Jersey
Magnolia is a Borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 4,341.Magnolia was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1915, from portions of the now-defunct Centre Township, and parts of...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60134310@N00/64796437/, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/creativepd/3627439063/, St Clair Shores, Michigan,Huntsville, Alabama and Independence, Missouri. The sign in Pine Bluff is the only such sign that has its own listing on the National Register, though a few others may exist as contributing properties within historic districts. It is likely that the majority of single-arch signs were incorporated into private collections and it is rare to see them in use.
See also
- Golden ArchesGolden ArchesThe Golden Arches are the symbol of McDonald's, the global fast-food hamburger chain. Originally, real arches were part of the restaurant design...
- Oldest McDonald's restaurantOldest McDonald's restaurantThe oldest operating McDonald's restaurant is a drive-up hamburger stand at 10207 Lakewood Boulevard at Florence Avenue in Downey, California. It was the third McDonald's restaurant, and opened on August 18, 1953...
in Downey, California
Further reading
- Auer, Michael J. "The Preservation of Historic Signs", Preservation Brief #25, October 1991, National Park Service, accessed April 22, 2008.
- Langdon, Philip. Orange Roofs, Golden Arches: The Architecture of American Chain Restaurants, (Google Books), Joseph, 1986, (ISBN 0-7181-2788-9).