A visit to the worlds oldest operating McDonalds restaurant in Downey California . Ordered some food , checked out the museum and made a new pigeon friend . Adam The Woo Shirts and Hats shop.spreadshi...
Thanks so much for tagging along with me today . If you missed the previous video you can see it here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BVdudykQZ5g.html . Also my Instagram name is AdamTheWooATW
Adam, I grew up in that area. We were extremely poor and lack of food was the norm. When this McD's opened, I'll never forget going over there. We paid .10 for burgers, .15 for cheeseburgers, .10 for fries, .10 for beverages. The five of us ate and ate and ate and ate.....and then my dad actually said, "I'm getting more. Who wants more?" It was SO GOOD and I had never had that much food at one time in my life. It was a day none of us have ever forgotten. We had relatives in Downey on Brunache (not far from Firestone and Stewart & Gray.) We lived in Maywood on Everett Ave as well as in Huntington Park on Hollenbeck.
The most recent CEO (who had to resign recently for personal indiscretions) wanted in the worst way to divorce the current McDonalds Corp. from any vestige of its history (the dude was from Great Britain, so...)
I'm going by memory here, but the Northridge earthquake from 1994 severely damaged this restaurant. It was red-tagged as the building was unsafe. I'm glad it was saved, probably at great cost.
@@THOMMGB You are correct about that claim but, it was a B.S. story. There was no damage to the building. Downey did not have any damage at all. We hardly felt anything. The property owner ( Pep Boys) was looking to demolish the building as it sat empty for a few years. Mc Donald's refused to renew the franchise agreement due to the owner making more money off shirts and hats etc. As a Jr. Downey J.C. Member I did help in fighting to save this property from being destroyed. We forced Mc Donald's to reconcile their history and use it as a marketing plan. It worked and they paid to have the property fixed up. I still today have the Press Release for the Grand Reopening. There was some water damage to be repaired and the sign had to be repainted and all the neon replaced. My family became friends with the original owners of this restaurant. Also being a member of the historical society, we helped to arrange to set up the museum on site. The family kept all the items they replaced over the years. They had much more then what ended up in the museum.
I`m 62 I use to eat there when they opened. Two cheeseburgers, fries, and a drink for under a buck. But if you wanted ketchup it cost 4 cents extra and they put it in a little white cup. BELIEVE IT or not.
@Kw1k Relentz yeah but usually they use ketchup packets when you ask for ketchup. The white cups are only if you eat inside and don't ask for it when you order
I've eaten at this McDonald's in Downey. I remember when it was abandoned. The city of Downey decided to revive and rebuild the oldest McDonald's. It was actually the 3rd oldest McDonald's at one time.
@@urukadooedwards7637 most people in California hate our constitutional rights and republic, I don’t know if Ray Kroc was a Republican oh wait one of the McDonald’s brothers in the movie “The Founder” said to Michael Keaton portraying Ray Kroc said he was a “card carrying Republican”
@whirling dervish might not believe me but McDonald chicken nuggets are Tyson chicken nuggets and Tyson chicken nuggets use real chicken. Now I don't know bout all the other items on the menu . And just because they use real chicken dosent mean it's 100% safe but all I know is theres no pink stuff.
Portland, OR had one (3rd oldest I believe) but it wasn't functional. I think it stopped serving food in the 80's. Was demolished around 2017 I believe. Those buildings were so frikin cool looking. They really should bring them back.
McDonald’s today has that weird “urban hipster” design thing that just looks weird and off putting. It’s like they’re trying to make you think it’s a coffee shop instead of a burger stop.
McDonald’s food was so good back in the 1960’s not the same today. When I worked at McDonalds in the 1970’s we still made shakes by hand on a mixer. Those uniforms are from the 1970’s I wore the same pattern but in blue
@@Predator1706 Hey! I was born in '59 so I dont remember that. I grew up in the Suburbs of Boston, (Wellesley, Natick). It was a a Great time and place to be. I sang in the Choir, Loved Cars, Loved my Family and Friends. We had a Summer Place in Dennisport on Cape Cod. I had a Sunfish Sailboat that was fun. In the Early '70s I got into Punk Rock. Went to 1000s of Shows. I would see bands I didnt like just to see them.i saw Lynyrd Skynyrd in the Fall of '76 even. CBGBs in NYC was Awesome as was the Rat in Boston. I saw Everyone Live...Its Been a Great Ride! The '60s where a blast!
I've been to this location dozens and dozens of times for both lunch and dinner. And to think they were going to get rid of this building, and took the local citizens of Downey and the untiring efforts to keep this location today. I was one of those that signed a petition to keep it here and open. And have been there for many tributes and events. This truly never gets old. And there is something special about ordering a burger, fries and shake here.
@@teamricexx no i just think the over whelming amount of these comments is suspicious. And no things actually did exsist before the 2000s, except colour.
The Downey restaurant was franchised directly by the McDonald brothers themselves before Ray Kroc got involved with them, which is why it remained exempt from corporation mandates regarding updating buildings.
Thats not true because The Big M the Mcdonalds brothers original building was torn down due to company mandates before another chain owner bought the property in i believe the 80s.
@@Collection_Obsession Sacramento has a retro McDonald’s but it’s more modern like and has a Speedee sign small tho and Arizona closed and never reopened don’t know if u can find the building
I've been there twice. The first time, I was riding in a 1958 Edsel Pacer, and the second time, I was riding in a 1964 Studebaker Cruiser. These cars just added to the experience.
I hear you❗ That's wonderful. As a kid my favorite car I saw was a Packerd my friends Dad showed me. Older at the time. The first Edsel was driven by the executive's wife to our house. We all weren't sure of it...
There's something so iconic and special about a McDonald's like this with the sloping roof and 1950's look. For anyone old enough to have gone to drive in movies, this is the burger joint you'd go to before or after and back then, it wasn't a "McDonald's" it was a burger joint, just a new fancy looking one. The design of it is timeless and so classy.
Nope originally in Downey they never served ice cream because that was never on the original menu but now they repainted and put a nice drive thru now and adding desserts
I want to get on a plane and fly to California IMMEDIATELY. Whenever I do get to go back to the US, I’m absolutely visiting this place. I didn’t know about it til I stumbled across this video, so thank you!
This is how McDonald's looked in Mason City, Iowa in the early 60's! Love it! Huge treat when we were kids! My parents never made more than about 6,000 dollars a year and we didn't eat out! But once a month or so...huge treat. The fries and a chocolate shake were the bomb!
And thats how it should be a treat, unfortunately here in the UK we have imbeciles that go there EVERYDAY, their butts can hardly get through the door.
This is how McDonald's looked in Burien, Washington in the mid-to-late '60s. Fabulous treat. The original Golden Arches walk-up design was torn down around 1972 and replaced with the newer sit-down format building, and then completely replaced with a modern-looking exterior and interior design about 10 years ago. "Progress"?
Our family ate at mason city McDonalds when we were all done with walking beans for the year. Now you can't afford to walk in the door anymore. They want you to talk to the wall to order now. Next...they won't want cash.
Adam, I still am old enough to remember McDonald’s looking like that and the menu, in the mid 60’s and early 70’s! I remember every Saturday for dinner, my mom’s no cook night, we would get a takeaway, since this was way before drive through windows! I remember I would always order a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake. I remember when the offered the fish sandwich and hot apple pie. Then a few years later their breakfast sandwich which was the egg McMuffin. Thank you for taking me down memory lane!
1962 - going to McDonald’s was a real treat for me. Two burgers, two fries and a coke - 64 cents, no sales tax. Fries were cooked in beef fat and were artery-clogging wonderful. The stores looked like this one, except no drive through - that came in the mid-1970’s. The stores had no inside seating until the late 1960’s.
I 've been to that..was two years old..and your comment on when inside seating appeared is spot on (Our Whittier one, just south of Lambert, on Painter, southeastern corner cross from Burger King, was outdoor till well till 70s)
Ray Kroc wasn’t “the founder.” There’s animosity with him and the McDonald brothers. Probably why Ray’s photos are by the bathroom. (You should watch “The Founder” it explains a lot.)
@@psirvent8 The thing is it is exactly called drive-in, it is not translated to german. I think they are going with drive-in in Germany because it is easier to pronounce than drive-through for german speaking people.
I remember going there since I was a kid. My dad used to say the 500 million served sign was there over 20 years ago. That was 30 years ago when he said that. I remember when they were going to demolish it because Pepboys bought the land but Governor Pete Wilson made it a landmark. That's when they fixed it up and built the museum. This was in the late 90's. When they opened it, they were only serving stuff they had back in the 50's and on Tuesday in a certain window you actually paid the prices from the 50's. We ate well those days haha. Cool to see it again. I moved out of California 1999. Lived in Santa Fe Springs about 4-5 miles from it.
I still have my very first McDonald's uniform from 1996. When they had the red and grey stripes. I still have my hat with all my pins I earned. I also ran the training program at the location i worked at in Leduc Alberta. And I will say that McDonald's has the best training program to get teens ready to step into the working world. Thanks for sharing Adam! I enjoyed watching this. Brought me back to my working days at McDonald's.
Sam Cammarata how about stop being a troll and get a life. Why call me a bitch. I did nothing to you. You have no idea who i am. But judging by your comment I know what kind of person you are. How about you move on bitch.
The drive thru was just completed over a year ago. There were many who did not approve of this but they had to update the customer service as the McDonald's up the street was taking a lot of business because of the access for ordering.
Great memory of the first time my parents took us to McDonalds in about 1960. McD had only been in Memphis for 2 yrs. at that point and we had never heard of them or been to one. Dad could feed the whole family for about two dollars and we got plenty of food. Their taste hasn't changed much over the years. They are not one of the better tasting burgers, but maybe a bit cheaper. Still, I hope they can stick around. The one thing that has drastically changed over the years is the quality of their employees. There is no quality but what can you expect for minimum wage.
Actually, most of us work our butts off. At least, we do at my store, and most of the other stores I've worked at. But we're definitely not paid enough...
@@rioeiokha9653 "childish crap" man right tho. Why in the world would a childrens show be childish. They need to be getting political in here man, where the talks about trump, religion, and racism. I don't turn on cartoons for mindless stupidity, I turn them on to learn!
I remember when McDonalds looked like this. I also remember that the 15 cent hamburgers were delicious to a little boy that loved them. Now McDonalds is an absolute last resort when nothing else is available.
And even that's a compliment. The best thing about any McDonalds is their free $25 Big Mac! It's always as healthy as the one they charge for. Look for it in the dumpster.
"McDonalds is your kind of place, Hamburgers in your face, French fries up your nose, Pickles between your toes, McDonalds is your kind of place, They serve you rattlesnakes, McDonalds is your kind of place." Was a parody jingle to the old school TV commercials kids would frequently sing when I was a young buck. There are many versions of it. The one I shared was the one most commonly featured in my region. Hahaha, I haven't thought of it in ages, but I don't eat there anymore. I do very much remember how excited I would get at the prospect of going to Mickey Ds though. Great memories!!!
I remember when McDonalds used to give out actually metal hot wheel cars instead of cheap plastic cars that can get easily damaged Edit:Also why does the restaurant itself almost look like the Krusty Krab?
Drive in came in 2 forms Car service with a waitress and oor a spreaker type ordering system. Or the McDonald's way of parking and walking up to the window.
My dad took us to McDonald's for the first time in the mid-1960s. It looked exactly like this one, and was the only McDonald's in our city in Ohio. We sat in our station wagon and enjoyed our lunch.
Oh yes; I remember in the 70’s taking a bite of the fried apple pie ... heaven in a cardboard box! There’s a fast food place here in Canada that still fries the apple pie. So I get it there! I also miss their amazing styrofoam containers for the burgers! Recycled cardboard boxes don’t give the same McDonald’s feeling!
@@swazaswazae8580 a handshake deal, they're owed billions from perpetuity (if you don't know what that is, look it up), but they'll never get it since it was done on a handshake, not in writing. Watch the movie The Founder, and you'll learn how they were swindled out of billions of dollars.
Adam, back in the day, a “Drive In” was where you could stay in your car and the staff would come out to serve you. Definitely not a “Drive Thru.” Great video!
Ah yes, The always condescending anti-American comments. They are as reliable as the United States when the world was getting handled in both WW1 and WW2. How quick people are to forget.
Ah yes, The always condescending anti-Europeanb comments. They are as reliable as Europe when the US was getting handled in American Revolutionary War. How quick people are to forget.
Actually McDonalds wanted nothing to do with the preservation of this location, most of the support came from archetecture enthusiasts. This design is influenced by "Googie" a modernist design very popular in California late 40's 50's into the 1960's. The roots of "Googie" design are from "Bahaus" school in Germany, which was closed by Hitler as non-essential. Many of the Architechs and designers where able to implement design in U.S. It really is less about the Hamburger and I'm sure everyone will agree ART, industrial or whatever the medium, is a culture.
he also was drowning in debt before Sonneborn convinced him to be a land owner, not a restaurant owner, meaning he likely was unable to buy this one's land from under them, so he wasn't able to force them to tear it down. I'm kind of glad the brothers did have a handful of franchises before the snake Kroc got involved, so this one is able to survive. I wonder who owns its land...
HQU, No he was not, you are 100% wrong. You are misusing the word. Did he popularize yes. is most of its success because of him yes. That doesn't make him the founder. Not in any way shape or form. He is still the most important figure in the companies history but again that doesn't make him the founder.
In Germany we would call this building a traditional Imbiss, weirdly enough there is no proper english translation for this word! I really like it, thanks for the mini documentation ;)
It said "drive in" not "drive through"in the news article, big difference. Almost all burger joints back then were called drive ins because you can literally drive your car in and park in front. Drive through means it has a window you can drive to and order/buy and not leave your car.
The McDonald brothers pioneered the "speedee" system, with different employees doing specific food preparation tasks at separate stations as quickly as possible. No curb service, no car hops; your order was filled quickly and correctly, every time. Mixmaster salesman Ray Kroc saw it, and was hugely impressed.
@@jfilesgraphics Mac and Dick McDonald became wealthy, of course. But they became bitter towards Kroc, in light of the huge operation the company which retained their name became.
Another feature of the McDonald system was an extremely- limited food menu, which speeded things up hugely. At the beginning, it was burgers and fries--only. The cooks only had to prepare two items.
I remember when I was a kid my mom would take me to a McDonald’s like this but it was in Colorado. Such a happy and fond memory. I love seeing this design.
The one I went too in Grandville, Michigan was only 1 of two in the country that was closed on Sunday due to the conservative beliefs of the town. Everything else was closed as well, and I always thought that was normal.
Once upon a time, this was their standard appearance, minus the drive-thru. Adjusting for inflation, a dollar today equals about eleven cents in those days. A drive-in does not mean a drive-thru. Drive-in means you drive in, park and eat in your car. They should have made the pigeon on the sign look like the original Ronald McDonald if they really wanted to deter feeding. Another travelogue with my coffee. Much appreciated, Adam.
Where is that New Old" McD's? All the stores they rebuild around here are the gray and tan, squared off McBland Box's. Better than the Yellow Swoosh design though (yellow snow artwork?).
After watching “The Founder” it kind of makes sense why Ray Kroc’s displays are near the restroom. But yeah, messed up movie. Funny and sad at the same time.
That movie is a crock of BS, They just wasted to vilify Ray Kroc and make him a bad guy. without Ray Kroc the McDonalds would never gone anywhere with their small regional Hamburger stand . They retired with the proceeds Kroc paid them
@@jonnychingas5757 I don't think the movie really vilify Kroc. The movie really just based the story on what actually happened and made the audience to judge it by themselves. A little side note, there is this comment I remember saying how Ray Kroc is the founder of McDonald's but the Mcdonald brothers are the inventor of it.
The movie exercised a bit of Hollywood licence because it seems Hollywood needs a movie with a villain and a hero. A documentary, it is not. Kroc didn't mistreat the McDonald brothers, not in the least bit.
@@tiadaid he did effectively kill their restaurant that he told them they could keep. by building a McDonald's right across the street from its location. causing the brothers to go bankrupt. I kinda see that as a form of mistreatment
A lot of comments on this video, so I am sure someone already told you: When this McDonald's open, it was a "drive-in" resturant, but that means you drove into the parking lot, got out of you car to order your food, and could eat it in your car. It did NOT have a drive-THRU window. Some drive-ins had car hops (waitstaff) that took your order at the car and then brought it to your car. I don't think McDonald's ever had car hops.
Dwarf Cassowary21 I’ve been talking about this movie since I’ve seen it! I found myself laughing but at same time feeling guilty. Those poor brothers :(
@Robert McConnell I get so angry every time I think of how Ray Kroc stole that business from the McDonald Brothers. Adam The Woo the black and white photo in your video that shows a round building and a sign that says Hamburgers 15 Cents is the original McDonalds Brothers burger joint and it sat across the street from where you were in the video and they were forced out of business by Ray Kroc. Kroc was not a nice man.
I don't care what people say but I still like McDonald's food! I worked at one for three years while in school and I still have the Ronald watch I was given for employee if the month.
I worked for McDonald's in the UK around the early 90's and went to New York not specifically for McDonald's but there were plenty around so I popped in. There was one in the financial district that had a shop selling different McItems and I bought a Ronald McDonald watch where his arms told the time. I also collected pins and have a Mac Tonight one...
I used to drive by that place multiple times, but never really ate there. I might be wrong, but I think that may have been seen in the movie The Founder.
Beautiful Video!!! (Grew up 12 years in Gardena…..6 min from there. So I’m pretty sure our Family has been there). THANKS for taking the time to make this video✅. God Bless😍
I was raised in the Missouri Ozarks and I saw my First McDonalds in Jacksonville Fla early in 1960. I don't know how long they had been open at that time.
