The Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's: When a Burger Joint Was a River North Landmark
From 1983 to 2017, the McDonald's at Clark and Ontario was part museum, part tourist stop: '50s cars, jukeboxes and memorabilia. Its history, its rebuild, and what's there now.
If you grew up around Chicago in the '80s or '90s, a trip downtown might have included a stop at the Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's. It wasn't just a McDonald's. It was a place you took visitors.
1983: the original
The Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's opened in 1983 at 600 N. Clark Street, at Clark and Ontario in River North. It was packed with rock-and-roll and '50s and '60s memorabilia: jukeboxes, records, vintage gas pumps, and classic cars on display.
It became one of the busiest McDonald's in the country, and for many tourists it was as much a stop as the Water Tower.
The photos with this post are from the hellgin founder's family photos, taken there in July 1986: the jukebox, a red Corvette, and an old Phillips 66 pump.
2005: the rebuild
The original building came down in 2004. A new, bigger building opened in 2005 with a modern look, two golden arches rising through the roof, a two-lane drive-through, and a memorabilia display upstairs.
It kept the "Rock 'n' Roll" name and some of the theme, but it was never quite the same as the original.
2017–2018: the end
The restaurant closed at the end of 2017 and was torn down in early 2018. McDonald's replaced it with a new flagship restaurant on the same corner: glass, wood, trees, solar panels, and none of the rock-and-roll theme.
McDonald's had moved its headquarters from Oak Brook to the West Loop around the same time, so the company wanted a modern showcase downtown.
What people remember
- The cars inside
- The jukebox and the music
- The giant arches
- Eating a Happy Meal next to an Elvis display
Got photos?
If you have photos from the old Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's, especially the 1983 original, we'd love to see them. It's one of those places that was everywhere in Chicago family albums and almost nowhere online.
For more gone-but-not-forgotten Chicago, see Riverview Park and Kiddieland.