85 years of McDonald's: A glimpse into the fast-food giant's early days
The first McDonald's opened 85 years ago this month, and the first franchise 15 years later. Here are some of the earliest images of the iconic restaurant chain.
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The original McDonald’s In 1940, Richard and Maurice McDonald opened McDonald's Bar-B-Q in San Bernardino, California as a drive-in with car hop service. In 1948, they revamped it into a self-service model with a simple nine-item menu, including a 15-cent hamburger, laying the groundwork for the modern fast-food industry. (San Bernardino McDonald’s restaurant 1948-1955 courtesy McDonald’s)
In 1954, milkshake salesman Ray Kroc visited the McDonald brothers' restaurant and saw its potential. He signed on as their first franchise agent and opened the first McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955, launching the brand’s nationwide growth. (Ray Kroc seen standing outside a McDonald’s franchise in 1960. Bettman/Getty Images)
Exterior view of the first McDonald's fast food restaurant with its neon arches illuminated at night in 1955, Des Plaines, Illinois. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The McDonald's Museum is a replica of the first corporate McDonald's restaurant, opened here April 15, 1955, after the franchise was acquired from founders Maurice and Richard McDonald. (Bettman/Getty Images)
Exterior view from a parking lot of a McDonald's drive-in fast food restaurant located in a shopping plaza, 1950s.(Photo by American Stock/Getty Images)
Exterior view of a McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Fresno, California, 1964. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)
McDonald's restaurant in Downey, California on August 2, 2013. The eatery is the oldest operating McDonald's. It was the third McDonald's restaurant and opened on August 18, 1953. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
In 1967, the first McDonald’s restaurant outside the U.S. opened its doors in Richmond, British Columbia. (City of Richmond Archives, Photograph #1987 61 3)
Swedish businessman Paul Lederhausen obtains the Swedish rights to fast-food chain McDonald's and on October 27, 1973, opens the very first McDonald's restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Sjöberg Bildbyrå/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
View along the counter of a McDonald's fast food restaurant as employees serve a line of customers, Washington D.C., February 9, 1979. (Photo by Thomas J O'Halloran/US News & World Report Collection/PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
A 1955 Ford and a 1955 Oldsmobile are parked in the lot of the McDonald's Museum on July 14, 2000 in Des Plaines, IL. The museum is a recreation of the first McDonald's restaurant opened at this location by founder Ray Kroc on April 15, 1955. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Newsmakers)
The walk-up window is seen at the McDonald's Museum on April 14, 2005 in Des Plaines, Illinois. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
The price board hangs inside the McDonald's Museum on April 14, 2005 in Des Plaines, Illinois. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
A mannequin dressed in the 1955 McDonald's uniform stands under a sign showing the restaurant's 1955 food prices in the McDonald's museum July 14, 2000 in Des Plaines, IL. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Newsmakers)
The milk shake blender at the first McDonald's restaurant opened by founder Ray Kroc, in the McDonald's museum run by the restaurant chain in Des Plaines, IL. (Photo by Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images)
A wrapped cheeseburger and hamburger display sits inside the McDonald's Museum, April 14, 2005 in Des Plaines, Illinois. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
The famous golden arches and red and white tiles of McDonald's frame the two walk-up windows at the McDonald's Museum, July 14, 2000 in Des Plaines, IL. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Newsmakers)
The sign at the first McDonald's restaurant opened by founder Ray Kroc and now a museum run by the restaurant chain in Des Plaines, IL. (Photo by Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images)
French Fries at the first McDonald's restaurant opened by founder Ray Kroc, now a museum run by the restaurant chain in Des Plaines, IL. (Photo by Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images)
American businessman Ray Kroc (1902 - 1984), founder and former chairman of the board of McDonald's, seated in his office in Chicago, 1978. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
