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  • When it comes to branding, you can't get much more recognizable than McDonald's golden arches.

  • But there exists in the world one place where McDonald's arches are a different hue.

  • Need even more reason to love this anomaly?

  • They're painted in the most fabulous of shades: turquoise.

  • If you want to visit this mysterious turquoise-arched McDonald's, it might require a road trip.

  • Those who live in the west won't have too far to go, though.

  • Among the red rocks and big blue skies of Sedona, Arizona, you'll find one of the few

  • McDonald's in the world with non-yellow arches.

  • This novelty location has become a major tourist attraction, as people from all over the world

  • travel to the state to snap a picture with Sedona's one-of-a-kind Mickey D's logo.

  • Ironically, that attention is antithetical to why the arches are a unique color in the

  • first place.

  • In a 2014 interview with Fox News, Nicholas Gioello, development services manager for

  • Sedona's Community Development Department, explained that the decision was driven by

  • local officials' desire to avoid anything that might detract from the city's natural

  • beauty.

  • When McDonald's came to the area in 1993, it was only a few years after Sedona had been

  • incorporated as a city.

  • So officials were still deciding what sort of restrictions they wanted to impose on the

  • aesthetics of exterior building and signage.

  • Gioello told Fox,

  • "We want everything to blend into the natural surroundings, which includes mostly earth tones.

  • The view is really why people come to Sedona."

  • So how did the color turquoise come into play?

  • Taking a proactive approach, local franchise owner Greg Cook reached out directly to the

  • Community Development Department to determine an appropriate and aesthetically-pleasing

  • arch color.

  • The conversation reportedly started with a suggestion from the community development

  • director in the mid '90s: try to blend in with the teal and red signage of the shopping

  • center adjacent to where the new McDonald's would be situated.

  • So, after putting their heads together, Cook and the Community Development Department came

  • up with the idea of turquoise.

  • Little could they have anticipated back then that such a seemingly subtle distinction would

  • eventually cause such a big stir.

  • Thanks to the ubiquity of social media, the turquoise arches became an internet sensation

  • somewhere along the way.

  • In fact, a cursory scan of the Sedona McDonald's tag on Instagram reveals that the location

  • has become a pilgrimage point for everyone from young millennial tourists to international

  • travelers.

  • Arguably, this influx of visitors is more disruptive to the scenic city than a set of

  • yellow arches would've been.

  • You won't hear Gioello complaining, though, since the tourism these turquoise arches inspire

  • means more business for the community.

  • If you're a keen and devoted McDonald's patron, you might notice that the arch color isn't

  • the only thing amiss about the Sedona restaurant.

  • Because unlike other McDonald's where the arches sit atop a pole that towers over the

  • eatery, this location's arches are lower on the front of the building and on a sign near

  • the road.

  • As you might've surmised, the Community Development Department also had a hand in this decision,

  • as height restrictions in Sedona allegedly prohibited taller arches.

  • Still, thanks to their cool color, the arches of this particular McDonald's are a sight

  • to see.

  • Just don't go rushing out the door for a weekend getaway with the wrong mindset.

  • You should know that there isn't necessarily anything inside of Sedona's restaurant that

  • makes it special.

  • When you visit, you're going to get the same greasy, but oh-so-glorious, burgers and fries.

  • Then again, when all is said and done, you'll walk away with a hashtag-ready snapshot in

  • front of the only turquoise McDonald's arches anywhere.

  • Even if McNuggets aren't involved, the Instagram post alone is worth the visit.

  • "That beautiful building flanked by those arches."

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When it comes to branding, you can't get much more recognizable than McDonald's golden arches.

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