The first McDonald's opened during1 948 in California, and just like the country, its gone through a lot of changes.

The first restaurants were retro drive-ins known for their quality food and fast service. The 1970s rebranded McDonalds as a place for birthday parties with slightly terrifying interior decoration. The 90s and 2000s saw expansions of their PlayPlaces to include massive jungle gyms and video games. These days, McDonalds are scaling back the colorful clown vibes, and transitioning to restaurants that look like grey, modernist shoe boxes.

Witness America’s favorite fast food joint build itself up from one store to a colorful empire, and then slowly die in the clutches of corporate modernization.