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, making news with labor issues and breakfast menus 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.
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Courtesy of '21' ClubCourtesy of Keizo ShimamotoKevin Lamarque—ReutersBurger King Corporation/PRNewsFoto/APJoshua Lott—ReutersSimon Dawson—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesMcDonald'sCourtesy of Kayla Tausche—APAndrey Rudakov—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesPatrick Fallon—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesCoutesy of GardenburgerCourtesy of KumaEverett Kennedy Brown—EPA/CorbisOctavian Cantilli—Universal OrlandoBruce Bisping—Minneapolis Star Tribune/ZUMA PressPatrick T. Fallon—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesNajlah Feanny—CorbisThe first Indiana McDonald's opened in Hammond in 1956.Courtesy of McDonald’s CorporationFuture McDonald's Chairman Fred Turner, at the grill in 1956.Courtesy of McDonald’s CorporationA McDonald's in St. Petersburg, Fla., in 1958.Courtesy of McDonald’s CorporationMcDonald's reaches 400 Million served, in 1960.Courtesy of McDonald’s CorporationThe first Ronald McDonald, played by Willard Scott, in 1963.Courtesy of McDonald’s CorporationThe Filet-O-Fish Sandwich, the first new item added to the McDonald's menu, in 1965.Courtesy of McDonald’s CorporationMcDonald's reaches 2 billion served, in 1966.Courtesy of McDonald’s CorporationThe Big Mac debuts on the McDonald's menu in 1968Courtesy of McDonald’s CorporationYou Deserve a Break Today advertising debuts in 1971.Courtesy of McDonald’s CorporationMcDonald's reaches 11 Billion served in 1972.Courtesy of McDonald’s CorporationRay 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.Courtesy of McDonald’s Corporation
