If you, like me, grew up stopping by your local McDonald's to get your coveted special occasion box of Chicken McNuggets, go feral on the jungle gym in the PlayPlace, and snap your photo op with a towering Ronald McDonald, then congrats, you've been indoctrinated to the Micky D's fan club. And if you've ever found yourself wondering just how long those golden arches have beckoned hungry customers to get their hands on a Big Mac and a refreshing McFlurry, you're not alone. Technically, the fast food chain opened its first franchise in 1955, but its history predates that.
Back in 1940, brothers Dick and Mac McDonald opened up a California car hop restaurant called McDonald's Bar-B-Q. Come 1948, the restaurant temporarily closed to rebrand itself as a self-service drive-in restaurant with a streamlined menu featuring burgers, soft drinks, pie, potato chips, and other beverages like milk and coffee.
In 1954, the restaurant caught the attention of Ray Kroc, who helped the brothers franchise their restaurant. A year later, the first franchised McDonald's opened in Illinois. While the vibrant and now iconic golden arches have been a mainstay since 1955, the rest of the restaurant we know and love today is practically unrecognizable from its early drive-in days.
Let's take a walk down memory lane and see what our beloved McDonald's looked like when you were born, and every iteration since.
1950s
Back in the '50s, McDonald's promoted its $0.15 hamburgers (can we bring that back, please?) and Speedee Service System in San Bernardino, California. The restaurant had its signature golden arches and was decked out in neon lights to attract customers.
1960s
Not much changed in the design of the franchise restaurants from the '50s to the '60s, although by 1969 it introduced a new Mansard roof design. McDonald's also advertised deals like free balloons for children and, according to a flyer from the time, "free favors for the ladies."
1970s
By the 1970s, McDonald's turned up the color on its signs, displaying the now-iconic red and yellow. The sign also features the classic M-shaped double arch, and restaurants were adorned with red and white stripes. What a time!
1980s
The 1980s saw a slightly modernized version of the restaurant's design, with a slight change in font, a more golden yellow coloring, and yellow and white-striped awnings and table umbrellas.
1990s
The '90s saw a big change in aesthetics. The restaurant's stripes were removed, and instead, the design was streamlined with a simple cream-colored building without the diagonal roof line or Mansard roof design of the past.
2000s
The 2000s brought continual modernization of its restaurant. It reincorporated the red and white stripes from older restaurant designs into the roofing and started implementing more sustainable design elements into its restaurant locations.
2010s
Some restaurant locations featured a less vibrant color scheme, opting for a more neutral palette of browns, creams, and whites. However, the arches over the restaurant drive-thru remain.
Current Day
Today, while the overall design of McDonald's buildings is less eye-catching, you can still spot the restaurants from a mile away thanks to their bright yellow logos and accents. After all, its logo has become one of the most recognized around the world, so it's clearly doing something right.
Which decade sported the superior look? Let us know in the comments!
