Museum Devoted To First McDonald's Franchise To Be Demolished

A McDonald's museum in Des Plaines, Illinois, on the site of Ray Kroc's original franchised restaurant from 1955, is set to be demolished as early as December, according to the Daily Herald. The museum has been closed to the public for a decade, but the 62-year-old neon Speedee road sign has become something of a tourist attraction in this suburb 20 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. According to the Herald, the future of the sign—or the contents of the museum—remains unclear.

As for the building itself, it was built in 1985 as a replica of Kroc's original burger stand, using design schematics from blueprints. It had served as a museum, featuring much of the kitchen and service equipment from 1955. But the museum was closed 10 years ago, and flooding in 2013 caused damaged to the building.

Today, McDonald's is the largest restaurant chain in the world, with 37,000 locations in 100-plus countries.