McDonald's Chicago Flagship
McDonald's Chicago Flagship | |
---|---|
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(s) | Ross Barney Architects |
The McDonald's Chicago Flagship is a flagship McDonald's restaurant located in Chicago.[1][2]
The McDonald's restaurant on the site first opened in 1983. It had a rock and roll theme, and was first called the Original Rock 'N Roll McDonald's, and later the Rock N Roll McDonald's. It was one of the most famous McDonald's locations in the world and was once the busiest in the United States.[3] The building had long been a local tourist attraction.[4] The original building was demolished in 2004, a new structure opened in 2005 with a maximum occupancy of 300, which is about three times the standard McDonald's patron seating capacity.[5] The original 1983 building and the first design of the rebuilt 2005 structure site held a rock and roll exhibit in a building adjacent to the restaurant and a small upstairs McDonald's museum display. The building featured the first two-lane McDonald's drive-through, relatively luxurious decor, a café, flat panel televisions and a green roof.
In 2017, the restaurant was rebuilt and the Rock and Roll theme was relinquished.
Location
The restaurant/museum, its rock and roll exhibit and its parking lot occupy the entire block bounded by West Ontario Street to the north, West Ohio Street to the south, North
History
Rock and roll theme
McDonald's has had a restaurant at 600 N. Clark Street since 1983, though the new building was redeveloped and reopened on April 15, 2005 as a bi-level flagship restaurant/museum with a two lane drive through. This is the first McDonald's location with a two-lane drive-through.[5] The reopening coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Des Plaines, Illinois restaurant which was opened by Ray Kroc on April 15, 1955.[11][12] Rock N Roll McDonald's is the location where the corporation kicked off its celebration of the 50th anniversary of the franchise. Among the celebrities in attendance were Colin Powell and Elton John.[4] At the time of the 2004 demolition, the location was the 3rd busiest in the United States and 12th in the world.[13] In the early 1990s, it had been the busiest in the United States.[3] It was expected to increase its sales revenue rankings from 3rd in the United States and 12th in the world with the renovation and redevelopment.[14]
The restaurant is priced higher than other Chicago-area McDonald's, in order to subsidize the interior decor which includes numerous plasma display flat screen televisions and expensive Italian lighting. Its second floor includes a coffee bar serving lattes, gelato and biscotti and lounges that pay homage via museum display, music, and decor to every decade the chain has been in business.[15] The 2nd floor McCafé is designed to compete with Starbucks by serving cappuccino, espresso, gelato and Italian pastries.[5] The building features a pair of 60 foot arches and two stories worth of windows that weigh 800 pounds apiece.[10] It has 10 cash register stations to complement its 300 patron capacity, which is about 3 times the normal McDonald's capacity.[5] The restaurant has three front walls of glass.[14]
Franchisee Marilyn Wright and her husband Ralph Wright have operated 10 McDonald's locations for the past 12 years.
McDonalds museum
The south (rear) half of the upstairs portion has a series of displays of early McDonald's photos, multimedia, and paraphernalia including the fast food giant's striped polyester uniforms from the 1960s. Much of it is arranged by decade going back to the mid-1950s when McDonald's first opened and is accompanied by
Rock and roll exhibit
When the building had its Rock N Roll theme, the display of rock and roll
Rebuild
On August 8, 2018, the building opened with 19,000 square feet (1,800 m2) of space on a single floor, which was 5,000 square feet (460 m2) smaller than the previous two-floor structure. The building is regarded as the Chicago Flagship of McDonald's and ushers in the pro-green era of McDonald's with over 1000
See also
References
- ^ "McDonald's Chicago Flagship / Ross Barney Architects". September 29, 2018.
- ^ a b c Kamin, Blair (August 9, 2018). "Column: McDonald's new River North restaurant: Not ketchup-red or mustard-yellow, but green — and not quite cooked". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
- ^ ProQuest 211833799.
- ^ ProQuest 229402398.
- ^ ProQuest 420306775.
- Eater.com, December 14, 2017
- Curbed.com, January 30, 2018
- ^ Former Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's gets new eco-friendly look from riverwalk architect Greg Trotter, Chicago Tribune, January 30, 2018
- ^ Kamin, Blair (October 25, 2019). "Column: Top architecture awards go to riverfront skyscraper, U. of C.'s public policy school and IIT's innovation center". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
- ^ ProQuest 420294939.
- ^ Nieves, Angel (April 20, 2005). "Rock 'N Roll McDonald's reopens". The Phoenix. Retrieved January 11, 2007. [dead link]
- ^ Becker, Lynn (2006). "Schlock Corridor - Chicago's Rock 'n Roll McDonald's". Retrieved January 11, 2007.
- ^ Chang, Rita (July 12, 2004). "Rock 'n' Roll McD's faces facelift". Crain Chicago Business. Crain Communications, Inc. Archived from the original on March 8, 2006. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
- ^ ProQuest 229314941.
- ^ "The Original Rock 'N Roll McDonald's". Citysearch.com. 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2007.
- ^ Trotter, Greg (December 15, 2017). "Chicago's Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's to close for remodeling, ditch rock theme". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ^ Hilburg, Jonathan (August 9, 2018). "The Rock 'N' Roll McDonald's replacement opens in Chicago". The Architecture Newspaper. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
External links