It was a time capsule. For years, if you drove down Lee Street in Des Plaines, Illinois, you’d see it—the glowing neon arches, the "15 cents" sign, and a mannequin named Speedee staring back at you from behind the glass. This wasn't just some random fast-food joint. It was the McDonald's Museum Des Plaines, a meticulous recreation of Ray Kroc’s first-ever franchised restaurant. People came from all over the world just to stand in the parking lot and peer through the windows at the vintage milkshake mixers and the tile floors that looked exactly like they did in 1955.
But here’s the thing: it’s gone. Totally flattened.
In 2018, McDonald’s tore it down. They didn't just close the doors; they leveled the building. Honestly, it felt like a gut punch to local historians and roadside Americana enthusiasts who viewed the site as the "Bethlehem" of the fast-food industry. If you go there today, you won’t find a burger, a museum, or even a stray fry. You’ll find a grassy lot and a small plaque. It’s a weirdly quiet end for a spot that essentially birthed the modern global franchise model.
The Ray Kroc Connection and the 1955 Myth
We have to clear something up right away because people get the history of the McDonald's Museum Des Plaines mixed up all the time. This was not the first McDonald's. That honor belongs to the McDonald brothers—Richard and Maurice—who opened their stand in San Bernardino, California, back in 1940.
Ray Kroc was a struggling milkshake machine salesman when he visited the California location and realized the brothers had built a goldmine. He convinced them to let him franchise the concept. The Des Plaines location, which opened on April 15, 1955, was the ninth McDonald's ever built, but it was the first one Ray Kroc owned under his new franchise company. To Kroc, this was the real Year Zero.
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The museum itself was technically a "replica," but that's a bit of a misnomer. It was actually built on the original site using the original blueprints. It used the same red-and-white tiled walls and the famous "Golden Arches" that actually supported the roof structure back then, rather than just being a logo on a sign. When it opened as a museum in 1985, it served as a monument to Kroc’s vision. You couldn't actually buy food there. You’d just look. It was a look-but-don't-touch experience that felt deeply nostalgic.
What was actually inside the building?
Inside, the basement was packed with old ads, vintage uniforms, and photos of the early days. The main floor looked like it was frozen in mid-shift. Mannequins in paper hats stood by the grills. It had that specific 1950s aesthetic—heavy on the stainless steel and bright, optimistic colors. It was a shrine to the "Speedee Service System," the assembly-line method of cooking that changed everything about how we eat.
Why did they tear down the McDonald's Museum Des Plaines?
The official reason from the corporate office in Chicago was pretty mundane: flooding.
The site sat on a flood plain. Every time the Des Plaines River got a little too high, the museum took a hit. By 2017, the company decided that the cost of maintaining a building that was constantly damp and difficult to access wasn't worth the PR value anymore. They also pointed out that tourism had slowed down. Since you couldn't eat there, it was a one-and-done destination. You take a photo, you leave.
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There’s also the reality of the brand's shift. McDonald's has spent the last decade trying to look more like a "modern café" and less like a roadside shack. The Des Plaines museum, with its bright neon and 15-cent signs, was a reminder of a past they were moving away from. While fans saw it as history, the bean counters saw it as a liability in a soggy basement.
The 2018 Demolition
Demolition began in late 2017 and was finished by the spring of 2018. It wasn't a celebratory event. Local fans showed up to take one last look at the neon sign before it was dismantled. McDonald's Corp. promised to preserve the artifacts, and most of the memorabilia was moved to their archives at the corporate headquarters in Chicago (Hamburger University).
The Controversy of "Store #1"
You’ll still hear people call it "Store Number One." That’s a branding victory for Ray Kroc. By calling his first franchise "Number One," he effectively erased the McDonald brothers' earlier success from the narrative for several decades. This tension was famously depicted in the movie The Founder, where Michael Keaton plays Kroc as a ruthless visionary.
The McDonald's Museum Des Plaines was the physical embodiment of that narrative. It stood as proof that the "real" story started in Illinois. When the museum was demolished, some felt it was a poetic, if sad, conclusion to that era of corporate mythology.
Where can you see McDonald's history now?
If you're looking for that vintage fix, you have to look elsewhere. The museum in Des Plaines is a ghost, but other pieces of the puzzle still exist.
- Downey, California: This is the big one. It’s the oldest operating McDonald’s in the world (the third one ever built). It still has the original 60-foot neon sign with Speedee on it. Unlike the Des Plaines museum, this one actually serves food. You can get a burger and sit in the original outdoor seating area.
- San Bernardino, California: There is an unofficial museum at the site of the very first McDonald's. It’s run by Albert Okura, the founder of the Juan Pollo chicken chain. It’s packed with an incredible amount of "stuff"—toys, statues, and original equipment. It’s arguably more interesting than the Des Plaines site ever was because it’s a labor of love rather than a corporate project.
- The McDonald’s Global Archives: Most of the actual equipment from Des Plaines is now locked away in private storage. It's not open to the public, which honestly sucks for the average fan.
Finding the site today
If you decide to make the pilgrimage to 400 Lee Street today, don’t expect a museum. You’ll find a plot of land that is remarkably unremarkable.
There is a small monument—a "Memorial Plaza"—that marks the spot. It features a brick outline of where the building once stood and a commemorative plaque. It’s a quiet place. You can stand where the first fry vats once hissed and look at the suburban traffic of Des Plaines.
It’s worth a five-minute stop if you’re already in the Chicago area, maybe on your way to O’Hare. But don’t go expecting the neon glow. That light went out years ago.
Moving Forward: How to Experience Fast Food History
Since you can't visit the Des Plaines site anymore, your best bet for a history fix is a road trip to the Downey, California location. It is the only place left where you can truly feel the scale and the vibe of the 1950s "Golden Arches" era while actually eating the food.
If you're stuck in the Midwest, check out the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. They have an original "Lamy’s Diner" and plenty of roadside culture exhibits that capture the same spirit that Ray Kroc tapped into back in '55. The McDonald's Museum Des Plaines may be gone, but the impact of what happened on that corner in 1955 is still visible on almost every street corner in the world.
To get the most out of your fast-food history search, look into the "Route 66" heritage trails. Many of the original franchise concepts—not just McDonald's, but also Dairy Queen and A&W—got their start along these corridors. You can find more authentic, surviving structures by following the old highways than by looking for corporate-owned museums that are prone to being torn down for tax write-offs.