McDonald's Chicago Flagship

Last updated

McDonald's Chicago Flagship
McDonald's Chicago Flagship.jpg
The restaurant following the 2018 rebuild
McDonald's Chicago Flagship
General information
TypeRestaurant
Address600 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
Coordinates 41°53′34″N87°37′54″W / 41.8929°N 87.6316°W / 41.8929; -87.6316
Completed2018
Design and construction
Architect(s) Ross Barney Architects

The McDonald's Chicago Flagship is a flagship McDonald's restaurant located in Chicago. [1] [2]

Contents

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. [6] The building was designed to be eco-friendly by Carol Ross Barney, Ross Barney Architects, with interiors by Landini Associates. [7] [8] The redesign won the design excellence Award of Merit from the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 2019. [9]

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 LaSalle Street to the west and North Clark Street to the east in the River North neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. It is across the street (Clark Street) from the Hard Rock Cafe and the Rainforest Cafe. [10]

History

Rock and roll theme

20040712rocknrollmcd.jpg
20040713hendrix.jpg
The restaurant prior to the 2004/2005 redevelopment
The restaurant prior to the 2018 redesign 20110219 082 Rock n' Roll McDonalds (5515667533).jpg
The restaurant prior to the 2018 redesign

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. [14] In addition to a perimeter of trees, the building has two green roof gardens on two levels. The lower one is visible from inside. [14] However, the upper roof is only visible from surrounding high-rise buildings. Neither accommodates customer access. [14] The trash cans in this tourist mecca say thank you in ten languages. [5] The restaurant has separate preparation lines for white meat and red meat in the giant kitchen. [5] The demolished building faced Ohio Street, but the new building is rotated 180 degrees to face the Ontario Street tourist pedestrian strip. [5]

McDonald's museum

The upstairs museum represented every decade of the franchise 20070110 Rock & Roll McDonald's (10).JPG
The upstairs museum represented every decade of the franchise

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 pop culture artifacts such as pet rocks, early cell phones, and 8-track tape players. Downstairs there is a section on the first floor entitled "Chicago Firsts," featuring events and organizations that originated in Chicago.

Rock and roll exhibit

Rock & Roll exhibit 20070110 Rock & Roll McDonald's (3).JPG
Rock & Roll exhibit

When the building had its Rock N Roll theme, the display of rock and roll memorabilia focused mainly on Elvis Presley in an exhibit in a separate structure on the same lot. The exhibit included a set of The Beatles statues reminiscent of their Abbey Road album cover.[ citation needed ] In December 2017, the museum underwent a two-fold renovation. It embarked on compliance with a company-wide modernization of stores to include self-order kiosks and table service. Additionally, the museum endeavored to remove its rock n roll nostalgia. [16]

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 solar panels, apple trees, arugula, broccoli, kale, and native grasses on the green roof as it seeks Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum status recognition. The exterior eschews emphasis on the corporate red and golden colors and the interior is upgraded for modern commerce: ordering kiosks, table service and use of the mobile app. [2] [17] The company had moved its corporate headquarters from Oak Brook to the nearby Fulton-Randolph Market District of the Near West Side in Chicago in June 2018. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willis Tower</span> Skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois

The Willis Tower, originally and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110-story, 1,451-foot (442.3 m) skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), it opened in 1973 as the world's tallest building, a title that it held for nearly 25 years. It is the third-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, as well as the 23rd-tallest in the world. Each year, more than 1.7 million people visit the Skydeck observation deck, the highest in the United States, making it one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tribune Tower</span> Office skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois

The Tribune Tower is a 463-foot-tall (141 m), 36-floor neo-Gothic skyscraper located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The early 1920s international design competition for the tower became a historic event in 20th-century architecture. Built for Chicago Tribune owner Robert R. McCormick, since 2018 it has been converted into luxury residences and in 2023 won a Driehaus Prize for architectural preservation and adaptive reuse from Landmarks Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">30 Rockefeller Plaza</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

30 Rockefeller Plaza is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, United States. Completed in 1933, the 66-story, 850 ft (260 m) building was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood, Rockefeller Center's lead architect. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was known for its main tenant, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), from its opening in 1933 until 1988 and then for General Electric until 2015, when it was renamed for its current owner, Comcast. The building also houses the headquarters and New York studios of television network NBC; the headquarters is sometimes called 30 Rock, a nickname that inspired the NBC sitcom of the same name. The tallest structure in Rockefeller Center, the building is the 28th tallest in New York City and the 65th tallest in the United States, and was the third tallest building in the world when it opened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)</span> Mixed-use skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois

The Trump International Hotel and Tower is a skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building, named for Donald Trump, was designed by architect Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Bovis Lend Lease built the 100-story structure, which reaches a height of 1,388 feet (423.2 m) including its spire, its roof topping out at 1,171 feet (357 m). It is next to the main branch of the Chicago River, with a view of the entry to Lake Michigan beyond a series of bridges over the river. The building received publicity when the winner of the first season of The Apprentice reality television show, Bill Rancic, chose to manage the construction of the tower over managing a Rancho Palos Verdes–based Trump National Golf Course & Resort in the Los Angeles metro area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney Store</span> Company selling Disney products

The Disney Store is a chain of specialty stores created on March 28, 1987, and sells only Disney related items, many of them exclusive, under its own name and Disney Outlet. It was a business unit of Disney Consumer Products with the Disney Experiences segment of The Walt Disney Company conglomerate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theme restaurant</span> Restaurant based around a concept or intellectual property

A theme restaurant is a type of restaurant that uses theming to attract diners by creating a memorable experience. Theme restaurants have a unifying or dominant subject or concept, and utilize architecture, decor, special effects, and other techniques, often to create exotic environments that are not normally associated with dining because they are inaccessible, no longer exist, are fictional or supernatural, or taboo. The theme may be further extended through the naming and choices of food, though food is usually secondary to entertaining guests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonald's No. 1 Store Museum</span> Early McDonalds restaurant location

The McDonald's #1 Store Museum was housed in a replica of the former McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, US, opened by Ray Kroc in April 1955. The company usually refers to this as The Original McDonald's, although it was actually the ninth McDonald's restaurant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Tea Room</span> Restaurant in Manhattan, New York

The Russian Tea Room is an Art Deco Russo-Continental restaurant, located at 150 West 57th Street, between Carnegie Hall Tower and Metropolitan Tower, in the New York City borough of Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlyle Hotel</span> Hotel in Manhattan, New York

The Carlyle Hotel is a luxury apartment hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, The hotel is located at 35 East 76th Street, on the eastern side of Madison Avenue between 76th and 77th streets. Opened in 1930, the hotel was designed in the Art Deco style by Sylvan Bien and Harry M. Prince, with interiors designed by Dorothy Draper, and was named after Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle. The Carlyle has approximately 190 hotel rooms and suites, in addition to 60 cooperative residences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy's</span> Former American restaurant chain

Sandy's was a chain of American fast-food restaurants begun in 1956 by four entrepreneurs from Kewanee, Illinois: Gus "Brick" Lundberg, Robert C. Wenger, Paul White and W. K. Davidson. Sandy's was the ancestor of the midwestern franchises of the Hardee's restaurant chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurnee Mills</span> Shopping mall in Illinois, United States

Gurnee Mills is a shopping mall and outlet mall in Gurnee, Illinois, within the Chicago metropolitan area. Like the nearby Six Flags Great America and Great Wolf Lodge, the mall's placement in Gurnee is intended to bring customers from both Chicago and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With 1,936,699 square feet (179,925 m2) of gross leasable area and ten major anchor stores in its Z-shaped single-story building, it is the third largest mall in Illinois, and the largest of the four enclosed shopping centers in Lake County. Owned and operated by the Simon Property Group, it was an early part of the "Landmark Mills" chain of shopping malls built by the Mills Corporation. The mall features Round One, Hobby Lobby, Macy's, Kohl's, Marshalls/HomeGoods, Value City Furniture, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, 2nd & Charles, Dick's Sporting Goods, The RoomPlace, Marcus Theathers, Top Shelf Ice Arena, Burlington Coat Factory, and Floor & Decor as its anchor tenants. Larger non anchors include: Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse, Forever 21, H&M, and Lee Wrangler Clarence Center. The mall also features the restaurants of Rainforest Cafe and Lola's Tacos & Tequilla. There are three vacant anchor spaces last occupied by Bed Bath & Beyond/Buy Buy Baby, Sears Grand, and Saks Off Fifth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink</span> Multi-purpose venue within Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois

McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink or McCormick Tribune Plaza is a multi-purpose venue within Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. On December 20, 2001, it became the first attraction in Millennium Park to open. The $3.2 million plaza was funded by a donation from the McCormick Tribune Foundation. It has served as an ice skating rink, a dining facility and briefly as an open-air exhibition space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3 East 57th Street</span> Commercial building in Manhattan, New York

3 East 57th Street, originally the L. P. Hollander Company Building, is a nine-story commercial building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is along the northern side of 57th Street, just east of Fifth Avenue. 3 East 57th Street, constructed from 1929 to 1930, was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon in an early Art Deco style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixteen (restaurant)</span> Restaurant on the sixteenth floor of the Trump International Hotel and Tower, Chicago

Sixteen was an American restaurant on the sixteenth floor of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in the Near North Side community area of Chicago. It was one of three food and dining options in the hotel's room service offering. Sixteen opened in early February 2008, and an adjoining outdoor patio terrace, named The Terrace at T, opened on June 25, 2009 following the completion of the hotel's construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Peninsula Chicago</span> Luxury hotel in Chicago, Illinois

The Peninsula Chicago is a hotel located at the intersection of East Superior Street and North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The hotel is part of The Peninsula Hotels group based in Hong Kong. The Peninsula Hotel group's parent Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, who already owned 92.5% of the Chicago property's shares, purchased the remainder of the shares that it did not already own in late 2009, giving it full ownership of the hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oldest McDonald's restaurant</span> United States historic places

The oldest McDonald's restaurant that is still in business operation is a drive-up hamburger stand at 10207 Lakewood Boulevard at Florence Avenue in Downey, California, United States. Opened on August 18, 1953, it is the third McDonald's restaurant outlet to be opened and is the second restaurant franchised by Richard and Maurice McDonald, before the involvement of Ray Kroc in the company. The outlet still retains the original, standardized Golden Arches façade design and is one of Downey's main tourist attractions. Along with its sign, it was deemed eligible for addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, although it was not added at the time because the owner objected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">240 Central Park South</span> Residential building in Manhattan, New York

240 Central Park South is a residential building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Albert Mayer and Julian Whittlesey, it was built between 1939 and 1940 by the J.H. Taylor Construction Company, an enterprise of the Mayer family. 240 Central Park South is designed in a combination of the Art Deco, Moderne, and Modern Classical styles, with over 300 apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiffany & Co. flagship store</span> Retail flagship in Manhattan, New York

The Tiffany & Co. flagship store is a ten-story retail building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, within the luxury shopping district on Fifth Avenue between 49th and 60th Streets. The building, at 727 Fifth Avenue, has served as Tiffany & Co.'s sixth flagship store since its completion in 1940. It was designed by New York City architects Cross & Cross in a "conservative modern" style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store</span> Department store in Manhattan, New York

The Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store is a department store on Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The original 10-story structure at 611 Fifth Avenue has served as the flagship store of Saks Fifth Avenue since its completion in 1924. The store also occupies part of 623 Fifth Avenue, a 36-story tower completed in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Yacht Club Building</span> Clubhouse in Manhattan, New York

The New York Yacht Club Building is a seven-story Beaux-Arts clubhouse at 37 West 44th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Opened in 1901, the building was designed by architect Whitney Warren of Warren and Wetmore as the sixth clubhouse of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC). The clubhouse is part of Clubhouse Row, a concentration of clubhouses on 44th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The building is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark.

References

  1. ↑ "McDonald's Chicago Flagship / Ross Barney Architects". September 29, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 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.
  3. 1 2 Piskorski, Stan (October 1993). "Rockin' the night away". Sales and Marketing Management. Vol. 145, no. 12. ProQuest   211833799.
  4. 1 2 Garber, Amy (April 4, 2005). "Golden Arches ready to celebrate Golden Anniversary". Nation's Restaurant News. Vol. 39, no. 14. ProQuest   229402398.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Schmeltzer, John (April 10, 2005). "McDonald's new downtown site gets ready for party; Latest design is a far cry from the modest first restaurant opened by Ray Kroc 50 years ago". Chicago Tribune. p. 1. ProQuest   420306775.
  6. ↑ Chicago's Rock 'N' Roll McDonald's is Closing to Ditch the Music Theme: Big renovations are coming Ashok Selvam, Eater.com, December 14, 2017
  7. ↑ River North's Rock 'N' Roll McDonald's tapped for futuristic makeover The flagship fast food restaurant will trade its kitschy decor for a modern design Jay Koziarz, Curbed.com, January 30, 2018
  8. ↑ Former Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's gets new eco-friendly look from riverwalk architect Greg Trotter, Chicago Tribune, January 30, 2018
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. 1 2 "Massive arches". Chicago Tribune. February 19, 2005. p. 28. ProQuest   420294939.
  11. ↑ Nieves, Angel (April 20, 2005). "Rock 'N Roll McDonald's reopens". The Phoenix. Retrieved January 11, 2007.[ dead link ]
  12. ↑ Becker, Lynn (2006). "Schlock Corridor - Chicago's Rock 'n Roll McDonald's" . Retrieved January 11, 2007.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Past, Present, Future: Coming together in new flagship's design". Nation's Restaurant News. 2005. ProQuest   229314941.
  15. ↑ "The Original Rock 'N Roll McDonald's". Citysearch.com. 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2007.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ Hilburg, Jonathan (August 9, 2018). "The Rock 'N' Roll McDonald's replacement opens in Chicago". The Architecture Newspaper. Retrieved August 10, 2018.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.