McDonald's Chicago Flagship facts for kids
Quick facts for kids McDonald's Chicago Flagship |
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The restaurant following the 2018 rebuild
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| General information | |
| Type | Restaurant |
| Address | 600 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60610, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°53′34″N 87°37′54″W / 41.8929°N 87.6316°W |
| Completed | 2018 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Ross Barney Architects |
The McDonald's Chicago Flagship is a very special McDonald's restaurant in Chicago. It's called a "flagship" because it's one of the most important and well-known locations for the company.
The first McDonald's on this spot opened in 1983. It had a fun Rock and roll theme and was known as the Rock N Roll McDonald's. It quickly became famous around the world. At one point, it was even the busiest McDonald's in the United States! Many tourists loved to visit this unique building.
The original building was taken down in 2004. A brand new one opened in 2005. This new building could hold 300 people, which is much larger than a regular McDonald's. It also had the first two-lane drive-through for McDonald's. Inside, it had cool decorations, a café, and flat-screen TVs. It even had a green roof! The 2005 building also featured a rock and roll exhibit and a small McDonald's museum.
In 2017, the restaurant was rebuilt again. This time, the rock and roll theme was removed. The new building was designed to be eco-friendly, meaning it's good for the environment. It was designed by Ross Barney Architects. This new design won an award in 2019 for its excellent look.
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Where to Find This McDonald's
This special McDonald's is located in the River North area of Chicago. It takes up a whole city block! This block is bordered by West Ontario Street, West Ohio Street, North LaSalle Street, and North Clark Street. It's right across the street from other famous places like the Hard Rock Cafe and the Rainforest Cafe.
History of the Restaurant
The Rock and Roll Theme Years
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McDonald's has been at 600 N. Clark Street since 1983. The building was rebuilt and reopened on April 15, 2005. It became a two-story flagship restaurant with a two-lane drive-through. This was the very first McDonald's to have a two-lane drive-through!
The reopening happened on the 50th anniversary of the first McDonald's restaurant opened by Ray Kroc in Des Plaines, Illinois. Many famous people, like Colin Powell and Elton John, came to the celebration. Before it was torn down in 2004, this McDonald's was the 3rd busiest in the United States and the 12th busiest in the world. In the early 1990s, it was actually the busiest in the whole country!
This McDonald's was a bit more expensive than other McDonald's in Chicago. This helped pay for its cool interior design. It had many plasma TVs and fancy Italian lights. The second floor had a coffee bar called McCafé. It served things like lattes, gelato, and biscotti. This was designed to compete with coffee shops like Starbucks.
The building had two huge arches that were 60 feet tall. It also had large windows, each weighing 800 pounds! There were 10 cash registers to serve the 300 customers it could hold. That's three times more than a normal McDonald's!
The restaurant also had two green roof gardens. One was visible from inside the building. The other could only be seen from tall buildings nearby. The trash cans even said "thank you" in ten different languages!
McDonald's Museum Displays
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The back part of the upstairs area had displays about McDonald's history. It showed old photos, videos, and items like the striped uniforms from the 1960s. These displays were organized by decade, going back to the 1950s. They also included pop culture items from those times, like pet rocks and old cell phones. Downstairs, there was a section called "Chicago Firsts." It showed events and groups that started in Chicago.
Rock and Roll Exhibit
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When the building had its rock and roll theme, it also had a special exhibit. This exhibit was in a separate building next to the restaurant. It mainly focused on Elvis Presley. It even had statues of The Beatles that looked like their Abbey Road album cover. In 2017, the museum was updated. It removed the rock and roll items and added new features like self-order kiosks.
The New Eco-Friendly Building
On August 8, 2018, the newest version of the building opened. It is one large floor with 19,000 square feet (1,800 m2) of space. This is 5,000 square feet (460 m2) smaller than the previous two-story building.
This building is seen as the main McDonald's in Chicago. It shows off McDonald's new focus on being green and eco-friendly. It has over 1000 solar panels on its roof! The green roof also has apple trees, arugula, broccoli, kale, and native grasses. The company hopes to get a special award called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum status for its green design.
The outside of the building doesn't use as much of the corporate red and gold colors. The inside is very modern. It has self-ordering kiosks, table service, and you can use the McDonald's mobile app. McDonald's also moved its main office to Chicago in June 2018, not far from this special restaurant.
See also
In Spanish: Rock N Roll McDonald's para niños
- List of music museums
