Ski-resort McDonald's! Fireplace Burger King! A Maine McMansion! And more Retrologist fast-food road-trip finds
A few days in New England produced a cornucopia of discoveries -- here's my guide to them.
My recent road trip through New England was teeming with fun fast-food finds. I think you’ll enjoy reading about these places as much as I did visiting them.
I visited a (doomed) McDonald’s with a ski-resort theme, a Burger King with a stylish fireplace in the middle of the dining room, a mansard McDonald’s in the process of being McBoxed and a McDonald’s built inside a Maine mansion.
Plus, I ran across a rarity in the wild: the 1994 update on the 1969 version of the Burger King logo, the progenitor of today’s retro logo. In New Hampshire, I visited an easy-to-miss tribute to the McDonald brothers — the actual “Founders” of the chain — and more.
I even stopped in at a rest stop on the Massachusetts Turnpike, where I was greeted by a certain clown who has otherwise disappeared into the witness-protection program of fast-food mascots. (Although he made an appearance TODAY!)
Keep your eyes on your fries, and let’s hit the road!
McDonald’s
McDonald’s Mansion, Freeport, Maine
An early 1990s slogan for McDonald’s was “what you want is what you get, at McDonald’s today.” The same can be said for McDonald’s itself.
When the Golden Arches wanted to move into Freeport, Maine, the hometown of L.L. Bean and a bastion of Colonial-style architecture, the townsfolk blanched. Even though the common style of McDonald’s in 1984 — the mansard — was designed to blend better into suburban communities, McDonald’s was going to have to do better to become a neighbor of L.L. Bean.
But McDonald’s gets what it wants! They one-upped everyone, bought the Gore House, built by well-heeled merchant William Gore around 1850, and opened a restaurant there in December 1984, garnering national headlines.
Even if you’re a hungry driver searching for a McDonald’s, you would scarcely notice its presence. The building is attractive in an unostentatious way, respectably blending into the traditional streetscape, just like the folks in Freeport wanted.
But right over the door, it says — well, whispers — “McDonald’s,” and there’s a tiny Golden Arches sign on the front lawn. A lovely tree and well-trimmed shrubs on the lawn add to the aura of discretion. Out back, the location was retrofitted to accommodate a drive-thru.
Inside, you wander through its rooms and can easily pretend you’re visiting the open house of a gracious New England country home with desirable features, including a fireplace. (And too much “modern” furniture, alas. The furnishings were more house-appropriate here before an overhaul.)
As I explored, I noticed a group of folks having a grand time in a cozy corner, gathered around a table by a bay window. It turns out they were L.L. Bean retirees who gather here regularly to catch up and caffeinate. They were happy to fill me in on the building’s history, and I was so charmed by them that they gamely agreed to pose for a picture.
I will do a longer post on this place down the road, and it will be included in the McDonald’s nostalgia roundup guide I am preparing. [MAP]
Read more on the Denton Mansion, a similar McDonald’s on Long Island, here. And visit a McDonald’s styled after a mountain lodge, with a lot of interesting context, below.
I'm Lovin' It: The story of the gigantic log cabin McDonald's in Wisconsin Dells
You may have seen the article making the rounds. Architectural Digest published a piece last month showcasing what it calls the world’s most beautiful McDonald’s. The author seemed a little sheepish about putting the words “beautiful” and “McDonald’s” next to each other. I can understand that hesitation, but only so much. Like a lot of you, I see beauty in even quotidian McDonald’s, like the almost extinguished McDonald’s mansards.
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Ski-resort McDonald’s, Conway, New Hampshire
A reader on Instagram recently tipped me off to a McDonald’s in Conway, New Hampshire, that featured something remarkable: a ski-resort theme!
So imagine my horror when, nearing town after a long drive there, I saw a billboard announcing the store was closed for renovation. You all know what that means.
Sure enough, it was closed, but they had not yet knocked it down, and I was able to snap a few photos of the remarkable interior through a window — and I was awed.
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