McDonald's #1 Store Museum
McDonald's #1 Store Museum
3.5
This location was reported permanently closed
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
3.5
83 reviews
Excellent
28
Very good
25
Average
13
Poor
10
Terrible
7
avaneumann0656
Chicago, IL2 contributions
May 2018
It's a historical landmark of Des Plaines. I think Chicago will forever miss this historical building after its destruction soon :(
Written July 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tompkeil
Des Plaines, IL11 contributions
Jun 2018 • Couples
It’s gone. They are in the process of demolishing it. So sad. Technically it was not the original but to many it was. Used to be real neat to walk by and see the old cars. Just a memory now.
Written June 18, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dicksayad
Des Plaines, IL263 contributions
Jul 2017 • Couples
Looking at the first Mc Donald's really shows how they knew in whose early days how to service the public. It's a must see when your in Des Plaines and see a part of history. Many have and expressed their "WOW" feeling and see a part of history.
Written July 10, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Allen21096
Chicago, IL26,843 contributions
Aug 2018 • Couples
Even though the iconic signs and the golden arches had been removed in January 2018, it wasn't until Monday that the wrecking company was able to completely demolish the building. As of 21 Aug 2018, there is nothing left of the building that once was the McDonald's #1 Store Museum.
Written August 22, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matt_from_Chicago
Naples, FL677 contributions
Apr 2018 • Couples
We went here this past week, and the museum is closed down. It is partially dismantled already. I don’t know why they decided to shut it down. Someone mentioned that it was costly to maintain. The museum is kitty corner to the first McDonald’s that was corporately owned and became the chain of restaurants of McDonald’s Corporation. It is not actually the very first McDonald’s restaurant, which I believe is in California and was run by the McDonald’s brothers.
Written April 15, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hondaddy
Schaumburg, IL62 contributions
I'm old enough to say that I have gotten a burger, fry and small drink, gave them a dollar and got change back. This McDonald's is likely the smallest I've ever seen. Now it is just a stop and look. It's been a museum for maybe 30+ years. Never knew when we were kids that we'd be eating in the first of tens of thousands. Kinda cool in its own way.
Written December 17, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DerRail
Des Plaines, IL35 contributions
Apr 2018
This interesting little building has now all but vanished. I'm at a loss to think why the company decided to remove it.
Written April 29, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Allen21096
Chicago, IL26,843 contributions
Jan 2018 • Couples
It was the 4th of January 2018 and we happened to stop at the McDonald's across the street and looked over to the McDonald's #1 Store Museum only to find that there were at least two cranes and a demolition crew. They had begun to take apart and remove the "Golden Arches". Enjoy the pictures on this listing, as this McDonald's will soon be an icon of the past.
Written January 4, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Allen21096
Chicago, IL26,843 contributions
Jul 2017 • Family
Well, consider that this is the ninth McDonald's every built and the first one by Ray Kroc, who would go on to build an empire. This particular McDonald's was opened on April 15, 1955. Currently, there are more than 37,000 McDonald's restaurants throughout 120 countries and McDonald's serves 68 million customers daily. No wonder they can't keep with the signs anymore. Sometimes there are vintage cars from the 1950's parked in the lot and if you are able to get up close, you can see how far things have come, especially since the McDonald's Corporation is flirting with automated equipment at its locations. Though they have expanded to 120 countries, some of the countries McDonald's actually have different things on the menu and it is always fun when traveling internationally to stop at a McDonald's at least once to see the differences.
Written July 29, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jnelson22
Des Plaines, IL19 contributions
May 2017
it was awesome to see the very first Mcdonald that opens, and to see how small it was, and what the new McDonald are today, its amazing, imagine a burger being 15 cents, wow!
Written July 10, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is the Museum still open? We are planning a trip June 9 - 12, 2017. I can't find anything about hours and the phone number only lists the 2015 hours. There was some debate on moving the store closer to headquarters but did not find anything else.
Written May 24, 2017
Its not a museum that you can tour. It more of a snap shot in time from the 1950's that you see the old style of the building. Old cars, mannequins in the paper hats posed as serving customers. Its not a place to spend more than a few minutes looking at
Written May 25, 2017
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
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