Chicago’s Lost Rock n’ Roll McDonald’s (What Happened?)

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  • Опубликовано: 1 фев 2025

Комментарии • 531

  • @bearworldwide101
    @bearworldwide101 Год назад +168

    Stupidest decision McDonalds did was tear down R&R McDonald's for the crap exists now.

    • @steamintrumpstains
      @steamintrumpstains Год назад +5

      you mean the slim beef poop Mcdoanlds serves up

    • @qolspony
      @qolspony Год назад +1

      1st or 2nd one?

    • @Afuw41
      @Afuw41 Год назад +8

      I visited it back in 2014, it was grandios. But I would be more happy and excited if they brought back the orginal good from the 80s and early 90s instead of that declining crap they call food now.

    • @user-nn7ct3hk7c
      @user-nn7ct3hk7c Год назад +1

      @@Afuw41 burgers are trash but those fries and nuggets still are still 🔥

    • @Afuw41
      @Afuw41 Год назад +1

      You have one of a kind of taste bud to like them Powder nuggets 🤷🏻‍♂️ . Once upon of time, the was crispy on the outside tender on the inside real chicken breast.

  • @kittylaroux17
    @kittylaroux17 Год назад +159

    Hearing Westley Willis open for Local H at the Metro is probably one of the most Chicago things to ever happen.

    • @BLUE_OCTOBER-TRIX
      @BLUE_OCTOBER-TRIX Год назад +4

      Copasetic is an awesome jam

    • @Chungus_E_Mungus
      @Chungus_E_Mungus Год назад +1

      That’s amazing

    • @girldaddividendinvestor
      @girldaddividendinvestor Год назад +8

      "ROCK N ROLL MCDONALD'S"🎵🎵 😅😅

    • @girldaddividendinvestor
      @girldaddividendinvestor Год назад +3

      Saw him constantly in college, finally approached him at Alkaline Trio in 02. Amazing man. 😂😂😂

    • @BudsCartoon
      @BudsCartoon Год назад +2

      I went to a "secret show" at the Metro in 98, 99? from Marlboro Miles. It was Soul Asylum. They even did TLC's Waterfalls.

  • @uncletrick1
    @uncletrick1 Год назад +91

    I grew up in Chicago and visited the R&R McDonald’s frequently. I moved away in 2004, and had no idea that all of this happened since then. 😢

    • @culcune
      @culcune Год назад +3

      I visited Chicago in 2002 (I was born there in '69 and moved to L.A. with my family in '79, but visited relatives somewhat sporadically over the years), and my cousins took me and my wife there. So I got to see the pre-2005 rebuild, and had no idea what happened to it since. I visited with my daughter and son in 2021, and thought of taking them to see it, but it wouldn't have been there--we didn't have time anyway, but sad to know it's gone.

    • @DiMotherShip
      @DiMotherShip Год назад +5

      Eye didn't either n eye still live here

    • @coreybabcock2025
      @coreybabcock2025 Год назад

      I left in 2011

    • @amandabillingsley9436
      @amandabillingsley9436 3 месяца назад

      Same, I went back this weekend and I was pissed. I should have made a scene😂

  • @ampersand2001
    @ampersand2001 Год назад +70

    RIP to Wesley Willis, the legend.

  • @CaptainTonus
    @CaptainTonus Год назад +46

    You didn't mention the craziest thing about Rock & Roll McDonald's--they had pizza! I grew up in Arlington Heights and definitely went on at least one school trip to the Rock & Roll McDonald's, and I'll never forget how cool it was. Thanks for making this video!

    • @northdakotaham1752
      @northdakotaham1752 Год назад +1

      I enjoyed seeing the Rock & Roll McDonald's also on my frequent trips into the city. I always went through the drive thru however and never parked to see the inside of the building. I lived at the Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights for seven years....1991 - 1997.

    • @phaedrapage4217
      @phaedrapage4217 Год назад

      Was the pizza good? Like, Chicago pizza good?

    • @CaptainTonus
      @CaptainTonus Год назад +1

      @@phaedrapage4217 no, not at all

    • @kathleenwalker8842
      @kathleenwalker8842 10 месяцев назад

      And delivered.

    • @h8GW
      @h8GW 8 месяцев назад

      Wait, actual pizza, or what Chicagoans call "pizza", aka deep-dish?

  • @kathleenwalker8842
    @kathleenwalker8842 10 месяцев назад +2

    I worked at the original Rock-N-Roll McDonalds as a first asst. mgr. back in the 90s. It was one of the most exciting jobs ever! I met famous ppl like Mr.T, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Horace Grant, BJ Armstrong, Macaulay Culkin, and ABCs Dick Johnson. We sold souvenirs, made pizza, delivered orders. It was always busy. I wish it hadn't been torn down. I was a landmark. I didn't meet Wesley while working there. However, I did meet him while I was working at the Gold Coast "Kinko's". He used to come there to make copies of some of his lyrics. R. I. P.

  • @josephprather1614
    @josephprather1614 Год назад +51

    I moved the original owners son out of her house and into an apartment. She lived in a huge mansion. She took me down into her basement and showed me all of the old McDonalds memorabilia that she stored away. It was awesome to see so much stuff that she saved. It was like walking around In a McDonald's museum. I have been to the R&R McDonald's a few times and it is sad to see what has happened to the place.

  • @cedarpointfan5
    @cedarpointfan5 Год назад +21

    Last thanksgiving, my high school’s band performed in Chicago’s thanksgiving day parade. Having no where else to go for lunch, we ended up at the remodeled McDonald’s. We had NO clue of the rich and somewhat tragic history of the location! Super cool to learn about!

    • @OVERHERE-OVERHERE
      @OVERHERE-OVERHERE Год назад

      Respectfully, I did not know Chicago has a Thanksgiving day parade, I never heard of any other than Macy’s in NYC

    • @cedarpointfan5
      @cedarpointfan5 Год назад +2

      @@OVERHERE-OVERHERE lol it was definitely not as big as Macy’s parade in New York, but still a super fun experience!

  • @mr3366
    @mr3366 Год назад +4

    I remember taking a field trip downtown and we got to stop at rock and roll McDonald’s, it felt like a different place. Was amazing. I work down the street from it now and man what a sad sight.

  • @mackpines
    @mackpines Год назад +18

    As a fast food and company historian, this was just incredible.
    I’d always wanted to visit this particular McDonald’s but, never made it to Chicago.
    Another fascinating video.

    • @Ys-ll9su
      @Ys-ll9su Год назад

      well up in eindhoven (Netherlands) there is another R&R MCD so feel free to come over and visit!

  • @brianarbenz1329
    @brianarbenz1329 Год назад +82

    McDonald’s turned something unique and authentic into another fast food outlet. A metaphor for what the company did to American life.

    • @jmcnally647
      @jmcnally647 Год назад +8

      Yeah I stopped going inside once the automated order kiosks showed up and there were no longer people to easily interact with. Then once the order from the phone app was pushed more so than the drive thru window I was done. So sick of restaurants pushing the order by phone apps and downplaying more traditional order options. Not likely the trend will change but I feel like something important is being lost by automating the entre food delivery process in some restaurants.

    • @brianarbenz1329
      @brianarbenz1329 Год назад

      @@jmcnally647 They're looking to replace workers with robots.

    • @fahgedaboudit
      @fahgedaboudit Год назад +7

      Yeah, they really fucked up by doing that. It was literally the busiest McDonald's in the COUNTRY. There's a lot to be for "leave well enough alone."

  • @adamaizenberg756
    @adamaizenberg756 Год назад +15

    I went to Rock n Roll McDonalds so many times as a kid I was frickin heartbroken when they got rid of it. There were so many different areas to eat in and the music would fit the era you’re sitting in. There was Superman phone booth in there and a dark area like you were sitting in a drive in. Miss that place!

  • @KevinFields777
    @KevinFields777 Год назад +62

    I like the aesthetics of the new McDonald's, but they made a mistake tearing this iconic one down. Some things are just best left alone.

    • @ICONICPARIS
      @ICONICPARIS Год назад +2

      Totally agree

    • @Juwellz18
      @Juwellz18 Год назад +2

      I agree

    • @dougfredricks2017
      @dougfredricks2017 Год назад +5

      "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

    • @rarecandy3445
      @rarecandy3445 Год назад +1

      @chadstengel9581you dont know what communism is

    • @AliColak
      @AliColak Год назад +3

      They shoulda at least preserved their history smh

  • @ghostrider_414
    @ghostrider_414 Год назад +22

    We had one like that in Milwaukee called the Solid Gold McDonald's. It had Harley Davidson seats and a giant Moon Man that played a piano.

    • @coreybabcock2025
      @coreybabcock2025 Год назад +1

      I used to live on 31 st and WI Ave in 2004 !

    • @Der_Ingenieur
      @Der_Ingenieur 9 месяцев назад

      It was on 76th street a bit north of Southridge mall. Went there many times back in the late 90’s. They still had an MCD in that location last time I was there, but they got rid of all the special memorabilia etc years ago.

  • @WilkinsonX
    @WilkinsonX Год назад +41

    I miss rock and roll McDonald’s. It was a good place to listen to the music.
    People flocked there to get down to the rock music.

    • @Giratina1999
      @Giratina1999 2 месяца назад +1

      McDonald’s was the place to rock

  • @clowchan
    @clowchan Год назад +6

    Only knew about it because of the late, great Wesley Willis. "Rock over London, Rock on Chicago. Wheaties - Breakfast of Champions"

  • @cassidybb10
    @cassidybb10 Год назад +1

    We had a rock n roll McDonald's here in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio. Built in the early 90s and remodeled 2015. Lost all of the Rock n Roll motif, classic car outside, etc.

  • @PeterTea
    @PeterTea Год назад +21

    Growing up in Chicago, I always remember the life sized mannequins of the Beatles walking like a cut out from Abbey Road. Great memories!

  • @archive6094
    @archive6094 Год назад +11

    Now the song is back in my head

  • @DelmarToad
    @DelmarToad Год назад +7

    Great video, a very fascinating study of corporate hubris & greed. They were on top of the world with that Rock n Roll restaurant but couldn’t keep it going & had to ruin a good thing. Sounds about right.

  • @ZMAN_420
    @ZMAN_420 7 месяцев назад +1

    Great Content, I was there 10-15 years ago. There was no dollar menu, back when the dollar menu was a thing. I remember it being 3 times more $ than the McDonald's by my house.

  • @Josh-yr7gd
    @Josh-yr7gd Год назад +2

    In 2009 I visited Chicago with friends and seeing this McDonald's in person was a site to behold. We were walking around and all of a sudden this huge nostalgic McDonald's appeared. I couldn't believe my eyes. I took a number of photos with my digital camera.

  • @spddiesel
    @spddiesel Год назад +9

    Dude, the original R&R McD's was awesome. Grew up 2 hours west, any trip into the city usually included a stop there, if only for a shake as we walked around. Obviously this was back in the late 80's/early 90's, I wouldn't walk around that town anymore.

  • @Ifixstuf
    @Ifixstuf Год назад +8

    For those who are McDonald's fans, there are a lot of McDonald's that still have themes and aren't poop brown with no character

  • @BonnieDragonKat
    @BonnieDragonKat Год назад +9

    It was right next to the hard rock cafe originally. She was a beautiful store. I worked for a sister store that was set to become a Rock and Roll store. I cried when I heard she was gone.
    She was the corporate flagship and still is.

  • @Marcel_Audubon
    @Marcel_Audubon 7 месяцев назад +1

    I live in that neighborhood and went to the Rock and Roll McDonald's frequently, it was a clean, pleasant place - preferred it to the Portillo's across the street.
    The reason it was changed is that it was almost always mostly empty - there were no lines, most of the seating areas upstairs were closed off most shifts for lack of customers. If there was a time that this was the busiest McDonald's in the nation, it was long, long past. Times change and the "Rock and Roll" theme is now passe' - neighborhoods change, too. This block gets much less foot traffic than it used to, it's now surrounded on all four sides by busy streets.
    The new building, while not exciting, is also a clean, pleasant place. They have greatly increased their drive through capacity which is what most people are interested in these days.
    People here whining about the demise of the Rock and Roll McDonald's had probably not visited it once in the last dozen years (if ever) and definitely have no insight into the declining revenue of this location. McDonald's succeeds by reinventing itself, not by capitulating to whiners who live in the past and contribute no revenue to the store.

  • @northdakotaham1752
    @northdakotaham1752 Год назад +4

    Thank you for this video. I remember going through the drive thru at the Rock & Roll McDonalds when I lived there in the 90s. Very sad to see what happened to it and it's a huge loss for the upcoming generations.

  • @john-h4k6m
    @john-h4k6m Год назад +1

    when i first moved to Chicago in 2016 one of my favorite things was to sit in a torn up booth on the second floor and watch the cold winter city from the big windows as i ate a double cheeseburger meal

  • @jameskason8320
    @jameskason8320 Год назад +17

    Oh my god I had no idea this place was real Wesley Willis is awesome

    • @jamiecobb5066
      @jamiecobb5066 Год назад +2

      Rock over London, rock over Chicago!

  • @compactedorb3135
    @compactedorb3135 Год назад +6

    I grew up in Chicago and we visited this McDonald's a lot. Later in life I worked at McDonald's and soon had a few shifts at the classic red and white rock and roll McDonald's and I never had a chance to breathe. It was non stop but I loved that place so much. My wife and I had our first date there stamping out our I love yous on little metal coins which we still carry to this day.

  • @beddietv6139
    @beddietv6139 Год назад +13

    I still go to this McDonald's everyday for a large cold Hi-C. Portillo's and Hard Rock Cafe at it's sides. Chicagoan with Pride!!!!!

    • @nolifey
      @nolifey Год назад +1

      Ah yes always fun to see a bum sleeping in a booth while you eat, or get stank-eyed through the glass by dirty DoorDash bicyclists hanging out just outside

  • @emhutchi
    @emhutchi Год назад +6

    Thank you. I was wondering why Rock and Roll McDonalds was gone and replaced by that God-awful iPhone of a building. This is what we get when corporations think ESG isn't just a hedge fund gimmick and what customers want.

  • @jasonmims5057
    @jasonmims5057 Год назад +2

    I remember eating breakfast at this McDonald's on my first solo trip to Chicago. I sat on the second level and looked out over the city. It felt very special.

  • @robertcalhoun3123
    @robertcalhoun3123 7 месяцев назад +1

    When I used to go to Chicago I would always stay at the LaSalle Motor Inn and eat at the Rock and Roll McDonald's. It's all gone now.

  • @subparnaturedocumentary
    @subparnaturedocumentary Год назад +8

    rock over london, rock on chicago!

  • @goodmaro
    @goodmaro 8 месяцев назад +1

    I had no idea Wesley Willis's piece referred to an actual place with that identity!

  • @thisisjohnboarman
    @thisisjohnboarman Год назад +1

    Another great video.They had some locations for these elsewhere, not nearly as big. We had one where I lived in Maryland, remember going there quite a few times.

  • @hoboontheic
    @hoboontheic Год назад

    Wow! Great video of a Chicago landmark I visited as kid. Then you bring Wesley Willis into it. I saw him live at Off The Alley in Homewood.He’s a legend that made his mark on Chicago history.

  • @asalways1504
    @asalways1504 Год назад +160

    All right,be honest, how many of you came here because of the Westley Willis song?

  • @booch2912
    @booch2912 Год назад +3

    We didn't have a fancy McDonald's but we had Burger King Castle in Meriden Connecticut. Building was shaped like a castle a had a large play room, huge arcade similar to Chuckie Cheese, a huge party room with singing creepy animatronics and more. Was awesome place as a child to frequent.

    • @SoundsOfSushi
      @SoundsOfSushi 8 месяцев назад

      Isn’t that the place where they steam their patties with cheese?

  • @HighDesertReporter760
    @HighDesertReporter760 Год назад

    While attending McDonald's Hamburger U in 1988, we toured Rock and Roll McDonald's. It was a beautiful building. I'm sorry to hear that it's gone. Sad. Thanks for the video.

  • @peterlenihan5712
    @peterlenihan5712 7 месяцев назад +1

    The McDonalds in my area used to have similar decor. A larger dinosaur dressed as Elvis was central in the seating area. It was beautiful and fun… they’ve since remodeled and it’s now just a hideous normal McDonald’s… haven’t eaten McDonald’s since the remodel

  • @adamramsey5787
    @adamramsey5787 7 месяцев назад +1

    I would say that around 2012 or so, that is when Disney started to lose its mind, that is, lose sight of what it was. I find it interesting the shift in McDonalds the video was showing.

  • @actionjackson5646
    @actionjackson5646 Год назад +3

    We had a Rock n Roll McDonald's in Iowa City, Iowa too. IT was my favorite when I was a kid. Went to the Chicago one a few times myself also.

  • @goldenpezboy1
    @goldenpezboy1 Год назад +3

    I stayed near this McDonald's over St. Patrick's Day weekend! I had wondered why the building looked so different compared to its siblings.

  • @strykerentllc
    @strykerentllc Год назад +1

    Anyone recall the Super Chevy cover of 1989 that featured Chicago's fastest street cars in the drive-thru of the original Rock-n-Roll McDonald's? Iconic times that will never be experienced again. Marty Bilecki's Chevelle was the lead car in the line. Marty has since passed and the car has drifted into obscurity. Thanks for featuring this location.

  • @droningharry
    @droningharry Год назад

    MY wife and I went there on a date just before we were married and then anytime we were in the City we took our 3 kids there there. BTW there was a Rock N Roll McDonalds in Gurnee, Illinois on the outside loop drive of Gurnee Mills Mall. Nowhere near as big but some really cool stuff. It was kinda a hidden treasure, no hype you just found it and were like wow, didn't know this was here. Some more good info, thanks you always bring us back to when we were young. Thinks that had been forgotten come through and the memories rush in, keep it up!

  • @tommyanderson-filmmaker3976
    @tommyanderson-filmmaker3976 Год назад +2

    I'm originally from Madison, WI just north of Chicago, yes we knew about it. Back then McDonalds at least in our area from Madison-Milwaukee-Chicago the managers could all establish a theme. Some were racing, aviation, firefighting, etc. Back then they were all fun to go too. I'm sorry they are all gone.

  • @SynchroSk8
    @SynchroSk8 Год назад +3

    I remember the Rock & Roll McDonalds pre-2005 version was the one I remember going to as a teen. Things to do in the 1990s as high schoolers, go to the Rock & Roll McDonalds.

  • @jeffadkins6816
    @jeffadkins6816 Год назад +2

    Can you do a video on the former McDonald's HQ in Oak Brook? Pre 9/11, you could eat on the first floor of one of the office buildings and order off a Menu that included items available throughout the world at McDonald's...I went there in the mid 90s and believe Beer & Wine was also available.
    Keep up the great videos... especially love the Chicago stuff.

  • @machinegunangel
    @machinegunangel 11 месяцев назад +2

    Rockin’ with London, Rock On Chicago. Wheaties. Breakfast of Champions.

  • @smaslan9601
    @smaslan9601 Год назад

    I remember this growing up in Chicagoland south burbs many school trips there after the museums. Damn commercialism

  • @AlienDude51
    @AlienDude51 Год назад +4

    "The building was criticized for being stuck to the company's roots and profiting off nostalgia"
    those seem like things that would be good for the building?!

  • @nolifey
    @nolifey Год назад

    I live right down the block. My apartment balcony looks down on the McDonald’s there. The modern minimalist building they built in R&R’s place is so hollow and depressing. There’s no more color or pizzazz, it’s frequented by bums and considered a meeting spot for sketchy delivery bikers. The icing on the cake: everything on the menu still costs $1 more than any other location, as if there is still some novelty or experience to be found.

  • @HIRTMAN96
    @HIRTMAN96 Год назад +1

    There was a 50's McDonald's around the corner from my house. Changed it to this modern stuff and I never went back there.

  • @scottguthrie8074
    @scottguthrie8074 Год назад

    I worked there for a year in 1992. I don't recall a second story, but I do recall the outrageous conduct of guests in the drive-thru! Thank God we always had an off duty cop on hand!

  • @machinerocks365
    @machinerocks365 12 дней назад +1

    Thanks for making this. I’d drive down to it in the early 90s and park in the lot with no problem… Never knew they tore down the 2005 remodeled one . W-t-?

  • @chi-townryno6998
    @chi-townryno6998 Год назад

    Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, love the videos brother 👍

  • @madelynjohnston7317
    @madelynjohnston7317 Год назад +1

    I am so glad I was able to go here as a kid before it got torn down

  • @harperwiccan475
    @harperwiccan475 Год назад +3

    the problem with being a Chicago resident and going there was that it was the most expensive location and still is out of all locations in the city. I understand the prices for tourists who visit Chicago and the prices there merely seemed identical to those of the city's airport prices. Im 37 but i remember visiting at least 7 times in my childhood but as i got older and visited even the newly rebuilt structure, the prices were still out ridiculous.

  • @spiritof1977
    @spiritof1977 Год назад +1

    The shout out to Wesley Willis is amazing!

  • @PhilCarbone-wt5gj
    @PhilCarbone-wt5gj Год назад +1

    I quit the McDonald's fantasy when they tore down the corporate store in Oak Brook Shopping Center. They said the store cost too much to keep open, yet it was busy most of the time. Since then, the quality of the food and service has reached third world country status. RIP McDonalds.

  • @ginomo80
    @ginomo80 Год назад +2

    I used to love going there as a kid.

  • @JohnPaul-gh1fh
    @JohnPaul-gh1fh Год назад +1

    There used to be one in the Milwaukee area too.. They featured classic car shows every Wednesday. Just like this place, 10 years ago, it was destroyed and replaced with a typical "McCafe" styled McDonalds, a corporate decision.. to turn everything snobby.. because the new CEOs look down their noses at Great Americana stuff..

  • @bmjv77
    @bmjv77 Год назад +1

    I grew up in Kankakee, IL. Every time I was meeting with friends in the city, we'd always meet at the R&R McDonald's. Every 90s kid knew exactly where it was at.

  • @kurtburkhardt5862
    @kurtburkhardt5862 Год назад +1

    As a Chicago metro area resident, don't live in the city any more. I visited the R&R McDonalds a few times. It was pretty cool, but mostly the same greasy processed food. As a tourist trap and a flagship store it was a sucess. There are so many great, local fast food restaurants in that area, I mainly went when out of town friends wanted to go. The new place is so plain and sterile, now there is even less reason to go there.

  • @kandipiatkowski8589
    @kandipiatkowski8589 Год назад +13

    While I've never been to that exact McDonald's, as a fan of historic architecture, I can understand the dismay of some people that these buildings are not being preserved. There are similar situations going on all over the country. In my hometown of Wichita, KS, there is currently a battle going on to get rid of one of the major buildings in our skyline....simply because it doesn't meet the current style and esthetic. I was very dismayed at the new public library downtown. It is simply a glass box, nothing nostalgic or interesting (unlike the previous location that was modeled after Frank Lloyd Wright style of architecture.).

    • @JG-tt4sz
      @JG-tt4sz Год назад +2

      Today's glass box architecture is tomorrow's nostalgia.

    • @TAURELLIAN
      @TAURELLIAN Год назад +1

      @@JG-tt4sz doubt these cheap structures will make it that long

  • @mjb3798
    @mjb3798 Год назад

    I’m from the Chicago area & still live here. I wish it were still open. I used to go when I was a kid.

  • @titusmoody5616
    @titusmoody5616 Год назад

    Wesley Willis, "Rock and Roll MacDonald's"song when you hear it can't help but sing the hook 😊, use to see him at a bar on Lincoln avenue, my friends and I would hang out at, forgot the name

  • @TTM9691
    @TTM9691 Год назад +3

    They tear it down and rebuild it again in 2005, only to tear it down and rebuild it again 12 years later. Must be great having so much money to piss away like that. Meanwhile Elvis Presley and The Beatles (and other rock & roll acts) continue to be beloved and popular money-makers well into the 21st century; this past year there was a major documentary mini-series about The Beatles on Disney, and a feature length biopic of Elvis. The only thing missing from this video is: how's business at the new Mickey D's? Does it do less business? I'd love to hear that nobody goes in it, lol.

  • @Jude74
    @Jude74 Год назад +4

    My personal favorite Wesley Willis song is ‘I whooped Batman‘s ass’. Legend.

  • @Mallaien
    @Mallaien 9 месяцев назад

    Around the corner was the Excalibur nightclub, big in the 80's and 90's. I heard Acid house music for the first time at the Dome Room, which was part of Excalibur. I remember going to that McDonald's a few times before the remodel. Ed Debevic's was in the same area.

  • @garysprandel1817
    @garysprandel1817 Год назад +1

    Went with some friends to the first generation R&R McDonald's though it wasn't a specific trip more just driving around as a couple of guys in their 20s would do and stopped for some dinner. The "first" McDonald's was actually torn down not for the corporate change but mainly due to the the fact the Desplaines river is just to the east of the location and multiple flood events over the previous years had reached a point where McDonald's permanently closed the gates to the museum due to health concerns ( mold and structural issues) and finally demolished it. On a side note my grandfather was the general contractor on that first McDonald's and is represented in his trademark suit and hat on the job site in the movie The Founder but some Hollywood liberties were taken as grandpa never owned a pick up.

  • @benbaker2965
    @benbaker2965 Год назад

    These was such a great place to visit because it was an icon, it was unique. It was a destination. All rhe things mentioned in the vudeo abd the song. The corporate folks in Oak Brook had peas for brains. So set on rebranding it self they lost their souls along the way. History, heritage and nostalgia were abandoned. The Des Plaines McDonald's, store # 1 was also iconic . In the early 2000s I was often called upon to entertain colleagues who came in to Chicago from our worlwide offices. The top requests were the Sears Tower and Rock n Roll McDonald's.

  • @mrmoose6619
    @mrmoose6619 Год назад

    I am so glad I knew of Wesley Willis's work and getting to see the Rock and Roll McDonalds before it was destroyed. Sad... but I will always have the memories of THE place to rock.

  • @stevevorgias6734
    @stevevorgias6734 Год назад

    I drive by there at least once a week and it's such a loss to a grey blah lifeless block.

  • @stringlarson1247
    @stringlarson1247 Год назад +6

    I worked near there on a couple of occasions. The smell was just horrible. As the place got bigger and more garrish, so did the customers.
    Fascinating on so many levels.
    Thanks.
    Edit: I lived with Wes for several years. Everyday was a WW live show. So many stories/memories.

  • @SirEattonHogg
    @SirEattonHogg Год назад

    Grew up in SE Wisconsin and had a few high school trips to downtown Chicago (including one where I played hooky from school with a buddy sort of like Ferris Bueller and took the MIlwaukee Chicago train). The Rock N Roll McDonalds was like a significant point on the route to grab a bite or a designated mutual meet up place if lost (this was long before cell phones). Haven't thought of this place since then....

  • @johnjanes5434
    @johnjanes5434 Год назад +2

    My grandfather did all the pinstripes on the cars they had. Good ol peggy sue.

  • @hailmaryrecordings8255
    @hailmaryrecordings8255 Год назад +3

    I worked a few blocks away from the original in the summer of 1990. I ate there often & wish they wouldn’t have torn it down.

  • @michaelhagemann5999
    @michaelhagemann5999 Год назад

    Back in 1991 I was doing some Chicago skyline photography work, I talked with the manager of the Rock n' Roll McDonald's at that time and they were looking at plans to put up a new McDonald's sign just like the one in Las Vegas with flashing lights to compete with the Hard Rock Café electric light sign across Clark street, they never went through with it.

  • @MaartenZuidland
    @MaartenZuidland Год назад +1

    Not being from the US, I didn’t know this was a thing.
    I grew up near a McDonalds here in the Netherlands that is still known for being a rock and roll McDonald’s… a town called Best has a McDonald’s still in a decor that really looks a lot like the original incarnation… (and even being modernized several times over the past…)

  • @cubzrulz
    @cubzrulz Год назад

    I remember seeing the building for the first time in 2016 and told myself I need to come here one day with someone and sad to know that it no longer exists. I went to a retro McDonald's once near Green Bay, WI and loved it there I definitely would've loved it here.

  • @JasonBoth1
    @JasonBoth1 Год назад +1

    I used to go to this McDonald's as a kid, it is sad the classic location is no longer a place I would take my kids to, to share my memories with them

  • @jesseaharris
    @jesseaharris Год назад

    I remember going to a lot of 50s/rock n roll themed McDonald’s and burger kings on road trips when I was a kid, with jukeboxes, lots of chrome, Wurlitzer bubble tubes throughout, records on the walls, car shaped booths etc. don’t really see them much anymore

  • @GrognardPiper
    @GrognardPiper Год назад

    I remember going to Rock and Roll McDonalds in the 90’s on school field trips from the suburbs. There was another one at Oakbrook Mall that is now long gone too.

  • @alexlorenz4103
    @alexlorenz4103 Год назад

    I used to go to the Rock & Roll McDonald's when I was in Junior High. I was in band and we would go on field trips to The Symphony Center. After we would see a performance at the Symphony Center, we would go to the McDonald's for lunch.

  • @bretthibbs6083
    @bretthibbs6083 Год назад

    This is the first I've even heard of this place and I've worked for Mcdonald's on and off for close to 10 years starting when I was 16 and worked at a few in my early 20's and at 49 I'm working at one now. I've also been to Chicago a couple of times and never even seen it once I was probably around 8 or 9 then I think 11 or 12 or so. This would have been so cool to see.

  • @mostmost1
    @mostmost1 Год назад

    We had rock & roll McDonald's, Sports McDonald's on state st near Jackson and a few other non official themed McDonald's. The 70s-90s downtown Chicago was something else.
    There was alot of Bears , Bulls , Sox, Cubs and Blackhawks posters on state st. Two floors and worn down by the 90s.

  • @ronrice2249
    @ronrice2249 Год назад +1

    In the late 50s we lived in Chicago. My dad worked for Reynolds Aluminum during the day, and in the evening he worked part time at the very first McDonald's in the Chicago area. I loved those real golden arches. They weren't just painted on a sign. I don't care about the rock & roll theme. I like the nostalgia of the first one.

  • @SETROC316
    @SETROC316 Год назад +1

    Chicago here, That mcdonalds in its last years as rock n roll was a beacon for problems downtown.

  • @hfmmin6761
    @hfmmin6761 Год назад

    I remember I used to work Chicago downtown abd my places to eat for lunch was R&R Mc and Portillos 😮 wow good times 👍🏼

  • @sweshrung
    @sweshrung Год назад

    Thanks for referencing Willis. We miss him

  • @paulk8152
    @paulk8152 Год назад

    Been there hundreds of times. Both at the drive-through as I leave the city, and at 4 AM walking in at bar closing time.

  • @rose415
    @rose415 Год назад

    Another great video. Any video about the post office building over congress ave

  • @1208bug
    @1208bug Год назад +1

    Thanks Brian!

  • @CubeAtlantic
    @CubeAtlantic Год назад +1

    Never even knew this existed this actually looks kinda dope & interesting.

  • @sunlitegodis
    @sunlitegodis Год назад

    After prom, my cousin and I ended up at the original Rock and Roll McDonald’s in 1999 after we lost our friends when we were supposed to meet up at Cheesecake Factory. We actually made it to the John Hancock building, but our friends got lost. Since my cousin didn’t want to spend a lot of money, we ended up eating at MickeyD’s. I was pissed at the time, but it was very memorable. Especially since this the newer 2004 building went up just a few years later.

  • @jamesmcdonald5868
    @jamesmcdonald5868 Год назад

    I remember it, and I'm from Detroit!It used to have a nineteen fifty seven chevy nomad station wagon that was a delivery vehicle for banqueted occasion

  • @supremeasiaticallah2303
    @supremeasiaticallah2303 Год назад

    there used 2 be a Sports themed McDonald's a few miles away, that was also shut down...R. Kelly used 2 frequent the Rock N Roll McDonald's a lot.