2 McDonald's In The Golden State Of California Don't Have Golden Arches

We all know and love brands for their quality products, sometimes cheeky advertising, and, most importantly, their branding. From the biggest sportswear companies in the world, like Nike and Adidas, to fast-food chains, like McDonald's and Burger King, we get a sense of comfort and familiarity when we see their logos. In particular, we can see the golden arches of McDonald's from blocks away, and it's been this way since the early 1960s. Although the logo we know today wasn't the original design, it's what has been seared in our brains to associate with Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets.

The iconic golden arches haven't always been the driving force since McDonald's opened its doors, and the typical yellow color hasn't always been used, either. In fact, there are two California locations, Del Monte Avenue in Monterey and a location in Rocklin on Sunset Boulevard, that have opted for the color black and red instead.

There are a lot of McDonald's in the U.S., but only two California locations have decided to stray from the pack, and there are viable reasons (kind of) why. If you've ever been to Monterey, you'll find that the little oceanside town has a lot of wealthy locals. When this particular location was being built, McDonald's had to strike a deal with the city to make it happen. City officials banned the color yellow on the exterior of their buildings, so to come to a compromise, they settled on black arches instead. Although the main sign is a little moody, there's a separate sign in the parking lot area with the golden arches intact.

Three hours north of Monterey is the mid-sized city of Rocklin. This area has three McDonald's in total, but only the Sunset Boulevard location has red arches. There are theories that this decision was due to a zoning law at the time or contrasting differences in the nearby buildings; either way, they chose the in-your-face red to represent this particular location, and they're sticking to it.