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McDonald's museum

McDonald’s to raze Chicago-area museum of 1st restaurant

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
McDonald's museum
McDonald’s museum in Des Plaines, Ill., a replica of Ray Kroc’s first restaurant built in April 1955. Photo by Bruce Marlin, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license

OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) – McDonald’s Corp. has announced it will demolish a suburban Chicago museum that’s a replica of the hamburger chain’s first restaurant.

Ray Kroc built his first restaurant in 1955 in Des Plaines, after franchising the brand from the original owners, Richard and Maurice McDonald.

The Chicago Tribune reports the store was torn down in 1984. McDonald’s Store No. 1 Museum opened the next year, with the original restaurant’s sign out front.

In a statement, McDonald’s says tourist numbers have declined due to repeated flooding of the site since 2008.

The company says the museum will be razed next month and the land donated to Des Plaines.

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