McDonald’s announces closure with one of the last remaining single arch designs

A McDonald’s with one of the last single arch designs from the 1960s has closed – marking the end of a historic signage dating back to the early days of the restaurant.

The Illinois location, the chain’s home state, closed last Friday, after serving more burgers and fries to the Belleville community since 1961

However, the one-arch marquee dates back to 1962 – and was an original version that until recently was one of less than half a dozen of its kind around the world.

With only one arc instead of two, the board represents a short transition period from using the Speedee character – the hamburger cartoon – to the ‘Big M’ we know today.

The closure in Belleville represents a general trend of store closures currently sweeping the country, with an additional 1,400 stores set to close this year, according to a new report.

Chicago-based McDonald’s Corporation recently temporarily closed its headquarters and is reportedly preparing for a wave of layoffs.

With only one arc instead of two, the board represents a short transition period from using the Speedee character – the hamburger cartoon seen here – to the ‘Big M’ we know today

The restaurant’s closure also comes amid a series of closures along West Main Street in the small town just a few miles from Missouri and St. Louis.

There was no word from the restaurant’s official owner, Estel Foods, Inc, about the closure, and it only came to light thanks to a report from the Belleville News-Democrat.

The outlet reported seeing a “permanently closed” sign on the marquee of the vintage sign that still stands in front of the roadhouse.

Employees confirmed that the restaurant’s last day was March 31, leaving the approximately 40,000 residents who frequent the eatery for a quick bite to eat – while enjoying the historic signage – at a loss.

In recent years, other locations in states including Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Arkansas, and Ohio with the signage have all closed and subsequently lost their tops covered.

Those stores served as the last remaining bastions that offered the rare single arch, despite some, like those in Arkansas, being designated as “Historic Places” by their respective states.

Previously scattered along the back roads of America — and bearing the family coat of arms of founders Richard and Maurice McDonald — the sign can now only be seen in Belleville, and it remains to be seen whether the eatery’s business owners will choose to keep it.

Formerly scattered along the byways of America – and bearing the family coat of arms of founders Richard and Maurice McDonald – the single arch can now only be seen in Belleville, but for how long remains to be seen

In recent years, other locations in states such as Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Arkansas, and Ohio with the signage have all closed and all had their tops capped. A since-closed Las Vegas location can be seen here in 2011

THEN AND NOW: The restaurant’s owners decided to add gold arches to the buildings, as well as the original store in Des Plaines (left), based on the “feeling” that the roofs of the stores are “a little too flat.” were – but the single-arch design had been exceedingly rare for many years

The city’s very first McDonald’s opened in October 1961, the original building having only two windows and no indoor seating.

Nearly going under in its first year, the restaurant’s then-owner Dave Emby told the New Democrat in 1989 that the eatery didn’t catch on right away — until the introduction of the now-familiar sign around 1962.

Earlier, younger brother Richard decided to add gold arches to the building, as well as the original Des Plaines store, out of a “feeling” that the roofs of the stores were “a little too flat.”

The result was the installation of multiple iconic gold arches – although they didn’t have the look they have today.

Instead of joining together to form the classic ‘M’, the structures were placed at opposite ends of the building – hence the single arch.

Some, including the one in Belleville, also had a single arch holding up the McDonald’s sign – which still stands today.

Those shops served as the last remaining bastions with the extraordinarily rare single arch, replaced by the double arch later in the decade

Statewide in Chicago, the fast-food company is closing its U.S. offices this week to lay off staff remotely as part of a previously announced restructuring, with the number of jobs at companies reportedly running into the hundreds.

The cuts come as McDonald’s pushes to significantly expand its restaurant footprint in the US and Europe for the first time in years after saying many locations are operating at full capacity.

“It sounds like they want to reorganize the company into different structures to grow faster,” said BTIG LLC analyst Peter Saleh. Bloomberg when the restructuring was announced in January. “Maybe they feel they don’t have the right people.”

The job cuts at the company are part of McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski’s ambitious restructuring plan, but will not affect the approximately 2 million restaurant employees in franchised locations around the world.