The McDonald's #1 Store Museum is housed in a replica of the former McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, opened by Ray Kroc in April 1955. The company usually refers to this as The Original McDonald's, although it is not the first McDonald's restaurant but the ninth; the first was opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California in 1940, while the oldest McDonald's still in operation is the third one built, in Downey, California, which opened in 1953. However, the Des Plaines restaurant marked the beginning of future CEO Kroc's involvement with the firm. It opened under the aegis of his franchising company McDonald's Systems, Inc., which became McDonald's Corporation after Kroc purchased the McDonald brothers' stake in the firm.
The actual Des Plaines restaurant was demolished in 1984, but McDonald's realized they had a history to preserve, so they built a replica.
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's_No._1_Store_Museum
About McDonald's http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcdonalds_history_timeline/museums/mcdonalds_number_one_store_museum.html
Phone +1 847 297 5022
Address 400 N Lee Street, Des Plaines, IL 60016, USA
Coordinates 42°2'45.888" N -87°53'9.946" E
