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storeliker wrote:The McDonalds in Hayward Ca says (or used to say) Home of the Mini Mac in there sign.
The Newark Mall has a McDonalds by it that has a map of all the MicDonalds "firsts"

All the times I passed by, I thought it just said "Mini Mac" and thought it was because the restaurant was really small, though I think they enlarged it last year with the remodel...

The McDonalds on Gale Avenue in Hacienda Heights CA has been demolished for a replacement.

I remember when the site ADDED a drive-through. Drive-throughs were not around when the site opened! I also remember when they demolished a couple homes behind the location for additional parking.

The location mentioned above for the filming of the commercials is just down the street from this site. I was told at one time that that this site provided the food for the filming. Not sure if that is still the case.

submariner wrote:

storeliker wrote:The McDonalds in Hayward Ca says (or used to say) Home of the Mini Mac in there sign.
The Newark Mall has a McDonalds by it that has a map of all the MicDonalds "firsts"

All the times I passed by, I thought it just said "Mini Mac" and thought it was because the restaurant was really small, though I think they enlarged it last year with the remodel...

There's a "Mini Mac" in Bay City, Michigan that's really small, with maybe four or five tables and a drive-thru. I don't know how old it is, but it's in a 1990 Bay City phone book, so it's at least that old.

Similarly, I've seen "McDonald's Express" in a few areas, primarily gas stations; I don't know how Express locations are different. The one in Mt. Morris, Michigan (inside an Amoco->BP station) seemed like a normal sized McDonald's.

I saw this newspaper article this week about a McDonald's in Huntsville, Alabama that still has the original single arch sign that is going to be removed while the building is being remodeled. The sign is going to the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio.
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2008/04/sin ... _comi.html

Huntsville enacted some tough sign ordinances, but it's too bad they wouldn't allow a variance for this one. I remember the pre-mansard roof cinder block drive-in McD's which was on this site. It must have been replaced in the late 70's-early-80's with the last of the first generation mansard roof McDonald's. I think the mansard store was actually built around the old drive-in with walk-up windows, the original store being the kitchen.

I can understand why Huntsville enacted stringent sign ordinances and building codes, as even by the late 70's, the Memorial Parkway(Drive) strip was an eyesore despite being little over a decade old. Much of the construction was pre-fabricated to keep pace with the city's Space Race boom. Lost in addition to this McDonald's is an octagon Hardee's and a late 60's or early 70's post-drive-in A&W and some vintage shopping centers and malls. Superstore and greenhouse era Kroger stores still survive but are dwindling.

Incidentally, I visited Huntsville for a hobbyists' convention last summer and saw that McDonald's. I was definitely impressed by the vintage sign...even though the fact that the restaurant it was in front of was a lot newer threw me for an instant!

I love how they covered up the "15c" designation with a blank square. Too bad it's coming down...although its fate in the American Sign Museum sounds a lot kinder than that of many an obsolete sign torn down with abandon and relegated as scrap.

Similar sign I found in Oklahoma City back in 2004...



This is also sitting in front of a modern build...albeit a sort of retro modern build...

There is an orignal sign in San Bernardino at the museum.

submariner wrote:

storeliker wrote:The McDonalds in Hayward Ca says (or used to say) Home of the Mini Mac in there sign.
The Newark Mall has a McDonalds by it that has a map of all the MicDonalds "firsts"

All the times I passed by, I thought it just said "Mini Mac" and thought it was because the restaurant was really small, though I think they enlarged it last year with the remodel...

Was the "Mini Mac" a specific menu item that was once rolled out nationwide (or regionally?) I would think if the sign said this, than it was the franchise that "invented" it, much like the Filet O Fish and Big Mac were invented by individual franchisees. I don't remember the Mini Mac. Which Hayward CA McDonald's had this sign?

Someone mentioned a McD's on Bascom in San Jose. I can see from Live Maps that it has one of those great old towering arches signs. How "vintage" if the store building itself these days? The one in Fremont on Grimmer is kind of a weird hybrid of eras. I was told it once had a working merry go round that was torn out when they wanted a modern "playplace". There are still a couple of merry-go-round horses inside the restaurant as decorations. It's a shame that even these old locations were forced to paint their mansard roofs red. I liked the brown look myself.

Does anyone know of any intact "pseudo-mansard" McDonald's still out there? I have seen very few pictures of these and am not sure if hey have a specific "name." They were like larger versions of the 1960's McD's, with enclosed interiors with two dining areas, one on each side of the building. Usually the mens room would be at the back of one area, and the ladies room at the back of the other. While they were brick and had a brown roof, they still had arches protruding from the top of the roof, but no arch "feet" coming through the roof to touch the ground in front of the store. There was one of these near Wheaton Plaza in Maryland and another in New Carrollton MD.

The Willow Glen McDonalds in San Jose,CA is actually one of the first locations in Northern California. It kind of seems like McDonalds (as a company) doesn't realize they have left this very old location in its original form. In my opinion the San Jose location is far more original than Downey (but some might disagree).

TheQuestioner wrote:Was the "Mini Mac" a specific menu item that was once rolled out nationwide (or regionally?) I would think if the sign said this, than it was the franchise that "invented" it, much like the Filet O Fish and Big Mac were invented by individual franchisees.

If there was, I would think it would resemble Mac Jr (the single-patty version of the Big Mac that occasionally showed up on the dollar menu).

Of course, there was the Mega Mac (Big Mac with with two quarter-pound patties in one version...four regular patties in another).

(Rats. Now I want to make a McDonald's run...)

tesg wrote:
Of course, there was the Mega Mac (Big Mac with with two quarter-pound patties in one version...four regular patties in another).

I was in Vancouver, BC recently and had the four-patty Big Mac... If I remember correctly, it's called the Double Big Mac.

romleys wrote:The Willow Glen McDonalds in San Jose,CA is actually one of the first locations in Northern California. It kind of seems like McDonalds (as a company) doesn't realize they have left this very old location in its original form. In my opinion the San Jose location is far more original than Downey (but some might disagree).

I am not that familiar with San Jose neighborhoods. Are you talking about the McDonald's at 2434 Almaden Rd.? I have visited that one, it is pretty cool, though Downey's is the only one I have seen that has an intact interior with working kitchen. If there is another really old McD's in San Jose besides Almaden, I would love to check it out.

The La Habra CA McDonald's on Whittier Boulevard near Harbor Boulevard is an older site.

Older in that it was built before drive-thrus were the norm.

The drive-thru was added to the side of the building...yet it is far from the kitchen. I believe the restrooms are in between.

So, to get the food to the drive-thru window...there is a conveyor belt...that carries the food up and over the distance to the drive-thru window.

It is a quite a sight!

Dean wrote:The La Habra CA McDonald's on Whittier Boulevard near Harbor Boulevard is an older site.

Older in that it was built before drive-thrus were the norm.

The drive-thru was added to the side of the building...yet it is far from the kitchen. I believe the restrooms are in between.

So, to get the food to the drive-thru window...there is a conveyor belt...that carries the food up and over the distance to the drive-thru window.

It is a quite a sight!

Okay, that's a new one. And I thought our KFC/Taco Bell was weird for having the drive thru on the other side (this building was most likely added onto at some point, as the dining room is on the left, which is the reverse of most fast foods.)

Someone mentioned a Mini Mac burger. Anyone ever heard of a Daily Double burger? I saw this show up at the (now closed) McDonald's at Courtland Center in Flint. This one was a rarity -- instead of a food court counter, it was a full scale McDonald's (complete with its own restrooms!) set into a storefront. The only other place I've ever seen this kind of setup is a weird L-shaped one (also now closed) at Rogers Plaza in Grand Rapids, and another (also now closed) almost trapeziodal one at the almost entirely vacant Hampton Towne Centre in Bay City. I find these three to be oddities since, at the time they opened, food courts had long since come into vogue, but since none of the malls in question had proper food courts...