Any of you been to the Rock & Roll McDonald's here in Chicago?

[Dan Murphy]

If so, hope you took pictures, as it will be no more very soon. Next Monday, it will be closed and torn down to make way for a new, '50th anniversary edition'.

The current Rock & Roll McDonald's.....................

New spin for Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's

By Stephen Rynkiewicz
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 13, 2004, 8:24 AM CDT

Chicago's popular Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's will be replaced by a two-story McDonald's with retro trimmings -- in a sort of super-sized version of a 1950s drive-in.

Plans for the site at 600 N. Clark show a larger store with twice the seating, a two-lane drive-through and 60-foot yellow arches protruding through an angled roof.

The sloping windows of an old-style diner are extended to two floors of seating, granting more than 300 diners a view of Chicago's River North tourist strip.

The Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's will close Sunday night to make way for the new, 20,000-square-foot restaurant, slated to open in April 2005. The franchise location opened with 3,000 square feet in 1983 and grew to 7,500 square feet with its 1950s rock theme.

The location, along Ohio and Ontario Streets in the River North tourist strip, is the third-busiest McDonald's restaurant in the country and 12th worldwide, said McDonald's spokesman Lisa Howard.

The new site will feature Wi-Fi access and rooftop landscaping, part of the city's Green Roof plan for eco-friendly buildings.

No price was put on the project, but it is part of $16 million that the chain last year said it woud spend updating its 21 downtown restaurants by next spring.

The plan was devised by McDonald's in-house design group and was initiated by late chief executive Jim Cantalupo. Mike Roberts, McDonald's U.S. president, said the chain will deliver a better dining experience for the high-profile location.

"At this important site, we are building a flagship restaurant that will showcase the great moments from our past, while also looking ahead to McDonald's bright future," Roberts said in a statement.

The future, modeled after the original...............

The original McDonald's, #1, about 2 miles from my house

And the new, 2-story McDonald's

Take this neat flyby tour, pretty neat....................

Fly into Chicago and see the new McDonald's

 

[piglet too]

I am actually kinda bummed out that they are doing away with such a cool place! I sure hope that there will be some sort of nostalgia in teh "new" one.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Me too, Kirsten.

I think I read that there would be some of the great artifacts brought over to the new one, but sure will miss RnR McD's.

 

[Cinders]

I stopped in there on a quickie day trip to Chicago when I was in HS. This was the first theme McDs we had seen and we thought it was so cool.

 

[SoonerKate]

I read in the Trib that it was going away; that's so sad!

When I was younger I would spend weekends with my Grandma who lived downtown at the time; I loved that McDonalds and always asked to go there.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Nope. Never heard of it.

 

[LUVDSNY04]

I had never heard of this Mac's so thanks Dan for showing us these photos. Once I was at a beautiful Mac's outside of Cleveland. It was a two story and it had a water fountain and was very elegant.

I can remember the fisrt Mac that opened in Erie,PA when I was a teenager. Only males worked in the restaurant then and fries were 15 cents !

 

[monkeyboy]

The new site will feature Wi-Fi access and rooftop landscaping, part of the city's Green Roof plan for eco-friendly buildings

 

[Cruise04]

I really am disappointed in this also. Looks like another place to stop on Friday when we are in the city......

 

[Bumbles]

Florida has a much cooler and larger McDonalds...it's been featured on a few TV shows...large playland area it has

 

[Jasminesmommy]

Wow I can't believe that. I use to work at the sportsmart across the street and go there almost everyday for lunch. When they make this 2 story Mickey d's what are they going to do about Parking?? They don't have enough parking as it is and there too many things around to tear nything down.

 

[jennyanydots]

The Mcdonald's on 42nd Street in NYC has a theater marquis.

 

[Bojangles]

The McDonalds near the All Star resorts is really big and really expensive.

 

[macraven]

at first i thought you said hard rock cafe....................nevermind.
yea, been to the rock and roll mickey d's many times.

 

[jipsy]

There is a basketball themed McDonald's in the Hall of Fame in Springfield it's called McDonald's In The Zone. It even has a gourmet coffee shop inside.

 

[BethanyF]

Originally posted by Bumbles
Florida has a much cooler and larger McDonalds...it's been featured on a few TV shows...large playland area it has

I stopped in that one this spring, and I still love the RnR McD's better. It's a shame we are losing this one.
Maybe I'll stop there tonight...I'm taking an online friend for a mini-tour of Chicago.

 

[AlanM]

I've been there a couple times, sorry to see it go. But, if the new one is an improvement, I'll be sure to check it out.

 

[Bildmouse]

Our marching band stops there for lunch every year before the Columbus Day parade. I've chaperoned for the last five years. This is my DD's (and youngest) senior year and she is the drum major. We'll have to hunt for somewhere else to stop for lunch. The kids would get their uniforms on next to the buses which park across the street. We've gotten some pretty strange looks while all that is going on.