I received a real windfall from my late uncle when his wife gave me his old modest collection of HO railroad equipment. Among the brass track and the Tyco & AHM cars was a brand new but opened McDonald’s Restaurant kit which was part of the LifeLike Build’ems Series. I know that they are quite rare and that they were only on the market for a few weeks but does anyone know the real story of what happened?
From what I’ve heard, it was a trademark issue dealing with the Golden Arches but other than that, I’ve heard various rumors… If you know, I plus others would probably like to hear from you. If you are speculating, please say so as well. That way, we can keep the rumor mill at bay.
This design was very much associated with the car-oriented, “the teeny-bopper is our new-born King” mentality of the 1960s. The whole idea was to be a drive-in and take-out place. Inside seating was minimal, and the parking lot was essentially part of the restaurant.
This image lost its appeal as McDonalds tried to move into the mainstream and off “The Strip.” When they tried opening big, gaudy restaurants in more traditional business districts, they were met with constant resistance by community groups. In historic Concord, Massachusetts, where I was living through this period, the McDonalds people basically gave up when faced with a never-ending string of noise and traffic ordinances, sign and lighting by-laws, and approvals from historic district boards. Woolworths, hardly a gaudy shop themselves, was forced to re-design their signs to have a store in this town.
McDonalds of today looks almost nothing like the original. The trademark Golden Arches are gone, which makes models of that older period a really good indicator of the era of your layout.
Looks like one of the modern ‘retro’ style buildings, but it could be backdated into a reasonable facsimile of a 60’s style restaurant. Would love to see someone do the 70’s brick version.
I don’t know but look pretty close to me with some minor exception arch’s are definitely the same. But the Life Like kit is a dead ringer, I think the deciding factor here was that Vollmer donates to the Ronald McDonald Children Foundation
First McDonald’s Restaurant according to Encyclopedia Britannica.com
Typically yes, but I would like t put an emphasis on at least one exception, as there are probably a few. Right here though in good ol’ Greenwood IN still stands and operates one of the walk/driveup McD with the arches.
Come to think of it, seems like there’s another one here in the Midwest too. Hmm. They are however, a bit rare.
I would do like John Amos’ character in “Coming to America”, change it from McDonald’s to McDowell’s. And instead of the Big Mac, make it the Big Mick.
It’s ironic that you bring John Amos up, in regards to McDonald’s. When the 1st Canadian McDonald’s opened up in Vancouver, John Amos was the 1st store manager!
I’m going to put a John Amos figure in my McDonald’s.
Blaine
P.S. The 2nd McDonald’s in Canada was on Oxford ST W, here in London. I was there at the grand opening. Wish I had a camera back then.
According to Wikipedia you are correct. Also according to the same source, the oldest surviving McDonalds is in Downey, California. It was badly damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake and was rebuilt. There is a museum and gift shop on the property.
I will throw my $0.02 worth in concerning McDonalds. Yes the McDonalds brothers did own a chain of several restraunts in SanBerdino. Mr Ray Croc (spelling?)from Illinois (or was it Indianna) sold restraunt supplies and had the McDonald brothers as customers. He sold them MultiMixers for making milk shakes. Rather than one spindle there were several. The McDonald brothers owned a chain of restraunts. Seems as if Ray saw the light of the McDonalds ideas, with his idea of franchising he came up with the McDonalds Restraunts with the single arch sign out front with the Mr Speedee the hamburger headed guy as well as and a smaller sign inside saying how many million hamburgers had been sold. There was an arch on each side of the red and white tiled building with seating on tile benches beside the windows, and spotless restrooms. The arch sign in front had a sign that said how many million hamburgers had been sold. The originals had no inside seating, only a lobby where you could wait in line out of most of the ellements. I do not remember them being heated or ACed. Those original stores were called Red and Whites, and were remodeled first by adding seats in the lobbies, then expanding that for more seating and they kept on balooning to todays typical stand alone restraunt with one or more drive throughs. Another of his ideas was to have lots of glass so the customers could see just how clean his restraunts were. You were always doing something, if nothing else then you were using a cloth to wipe surfaces clean(not to be confused with a rag, as I learned in about 1967.) The McDonald brothers stores were not the original red and white stores. IIRC they were kind of brown and had a family crest on the front facade. The first Red and White stores was in Illinois I believe it was, and it was like the 10th or so McDonalds Restraunt. It is now a mesuem. I learned most of this as I was a graduate of Hamburger U, where McDonalds sent budding managers. I am just recalling from
I saw a picture of a mcdonalds in chicago that was built like these. also the one in middleton WI is simular also. From what i have found Mcdonalds are building some of their new buildings simular to the old ones and naming them “reto designs based on the original ones”.
