The McDonald brothers even failed to retain the rights to the McDonald’s name Meston’s arches, crafted by sign-maker George Dexter, made their debut in 1953 with the first franchised McDonald’s at Phoenix, Arizona. The franchisee was Occidental Petroleum executive Neil Fox. Fox’s brothers-in-law and business partners, Roger Williams and Bud Landon, took a franchise on the third new-look McDonald’s in Downey, California. Threatened with demolition, this remarkably original building was listed in 1994 and restored by the McDonald’s Corporation.