--- ---  # See Early Ads and Photographs From the McDonald's Archives by [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) and [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) Apr 14, 2015 6:00 PM UTC  McDonald's reaches 400 Million served, in 1960. McDonald's reaches 400 Million served, in 1960.Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation by [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) and [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) Apr 14, 2015 6:00 PM UTC **Correction appended, April 17, 2015** It was 60 years ago this week, on April 15, 1955, that Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald’s franchise, in Des Plaines, Ill. It wasn’t the first McDonald’s restaurant (two brothers actually named McDonald had started the California-based company) but it was the first step on the road to chain-restaurant domination. As McDonald’s enters its seventh decade, here’s a look back at images and advertisements from its first few decades — including two, numbers one and three in the slideshow above, which have never before been published outside the company. The company has changed over the years, going international, transitioning from a hamburger joint to a company that sells [bed linens](http://time.com/money/3758383/mcdonald-big-mac-sheets-wallpaper/), making news with [labor issues](http://time.com/3769361/mcdonalds-wage-hike/) and [breakfast menus](http://time.com/3773728/mcdonalds-mcmuffin/) alike. But not everything has changed: look closely at the photos of the earliest locations and you’ll notice the telltale golden arches.  Ray Kroc opens his first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Ill., on April 15, 1955. Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation **_Correction:_** _The original version of this article mistakenly identified the Des Plaines, Ill., McDonald’s as the company’s first franchise location. It was Ray Kroc’s first franchise location._ ### The 17 Most Influential Burgers of All Time  Courtesy of '21' Club  Courtesy of Keizo Shimamoto  Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (L) and U.S. President Barack Obama have burgers for lunch at Ray's Hell Burger restaurant in Arlington, Virginia June 24, 2010\. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) FOR BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE: ALSO SEE GM1E66S1OO001 - RTR2FO3N Kevin Lamarque—Reuters  Every Whopper(R) is a winner. (PRNewsFoto/Burger King Corporation) Burger King Corporation/PRNewsFoto/AP  Heart Attack Grill owner Jon poses with a quadruple bypass cheese burger in Chandler, Arizona June 17, 2009\. The restaurant is known for its hospital theme and triple and quadruple bypass burgers. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES) - RTR24RS3 Joshua Lott—Reuters  A beef burger created by stem cells harvested from a living cow is held for a photograph by Mark Post, a Dutch scientist, following a Bloomberg Television interview in London, U.K., on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013\. The 5-ounce burger, which cost more than 250,000 euros ($332,000) to produce, was developed by Post of Maastricht University with funding from Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images Simon Dawson—Bloomberg/Getty Images  McDonald's  The Varsity's staple. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Kayla Tausche) Courtesy of Kayla Tausche—AP  A ShackBurger is seen in this arranged photograph at the first Shake Shack burger restaurant to open in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013\. The New York burger joint known for its queues will sell ShackBurgers for 235 rubles ($7.15), about 50 percent more than in New York and almost triple the price of a local Big Mac. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images Andrey Rudakov—Bloomberg/Getty Images  The Umami Burger made with shiitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, and umami ketchup, with an order of fries is arranged for a photograph at UMAMIcatessen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Wednesday, March 14, 2012\. One of nightclub owner Sam Nazarian's Umami restaurants will open this year in Manhattan, part of a national expansion of the L.A.-based chain. Photographer: Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Patrick Fallon—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Coutesy of Gardenburger  Courtesy of Kuma  22 Oct 2008, Tokyo, Japan --- A Japanese Mos Food Services Inc. hamburger restaurant in downtown Tokyo. The Japanese food chain company has announced plans to set up hamburger restaurants in Indonesia to expand its Asian network due to weakening Japanese market sales. The first branch will open in Jakarta in mid-December and plans to open 15 stores in the next three years and 50 within 10 years. --- Image by © Everett Kennedy Brown/epa/Corbis Everett Kennedy Brown—EPA/Corbis  Woo Hoo! Springfield, hometown to America’s favorite animated family, The Simpsons, is coming to life at Universal Orlando Resort. Anchored by the mega-attraction, The Simpsons Ride, this expansive, new area within Universal Studios allows guests to enter the world of The Simpsons like never before. For the first time ever – anywhere – fans can grab a Krusty-certified meat sandwich at Krusty Burger, snatch the catch of the day at the Frying Dutchman, get a slice at Luigi’s Pizza, go nuts for donuts at Lard Lad, enjoy a “Taco Fresho” with Bumblebee Man, imbibe at Moe’s Tavern and more. Guests can also experience a new attraction – called Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl – that will take “foolish humans” on an intergalactic spin designed to send them into orbit; and encounter two new Simpsons characters who will make their debut with the new area – Krusty the Clown and Sideshow Bob. Octavian Cantilli—Universal Orlando  April 23, 1997 - Mpls, Minnesota, U.S. - See above -- This is a photo illustration for a story on what restaurants work well with certain kinds of outings. In this case, we're recommending that Matt's \_ home of the Juicy Lucy'' burger \_ as a good place to go before or after bowling. So we could shoot people in bowling shoes and shirts, with a few props, at a booth at Matt's. (Credit Image: © Bruce Bisping/Minneapolis Star Tribune/ZUMAPRESS.com) Bruce Bisping—Minneapolis Star Tribune/ZUMA Press  In-N-Out Burger's signature Double-Double cheeseburger and french fries are arranged for a photograph at a restaurant in Costa Mesa, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013\. In-N-Out, with almost 280 units in five states, is valued at about $1.1 billion based on the average price-to-earnings, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Patrick T. Fallon—Bloomberg/Getty Images  02 Aug 2004, Clifton, New Jersey, USA --- White Castle System, Inc. was founded in 1921 and is home to the White Castle Hamburger (also known as Sliders) and the first fast-food hamburger chain. The company, the first to sell a million and then the first to sell a billion hamburgers, has more than 380 restaurants. More than 500,000,000 burgers sold last year alone. --- Image by © Najlah Feanny/Corbis Najlah Feanny—Corbis  The first Indiana McDonald's opened in Hammond in 1956. Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation  Future McDonald's Chairman Fred Turner, at the grill in 1956. Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation  A McDonald's in St. Petersburg, Fla., in 1958. Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation  McDonald's reaches 400 Million served, in 1960. Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation  The first Ronald McDonald, played by Willard Scott, in 1963. Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation  The Filet-O-Fish Sandwich, the first new item added to the McDonald's menu, in 1965. Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation  McDonald's reaches 2 billion served, in 1966. Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation  The Big Mac debuts on the McDonald's menu in 1968 Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation  You Deserve a Break Today advertising debuts in 1971. Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation  McDonald's reaches 11 Billion served in 1972. Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation  Ray Kroc's first McDonald's Restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois is restored to its original form and reopens on May 21, 1985 as the McDonald's #1 Restaurant Museum. 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