Original McDonald's Site and Museum

The site of the original McDonald's restaurant on North E Street (now Juan Pollo at 1398 N E Street) is a pilgrimage point for fast-food historians. The McDonald brothers — Richard and Maurice — opened their drive-in restaurant here in 1940, then reinvented it in 1948 as the world's first streamlined, self-service hamburger stand, the template for the entire fast-food industry.

The small Route 66 Museum operated on the site for years, telling the story of the brothers and of Route 66's importance to San Bernardino. The original building was demolished before it was recognized as historically significant; the current structure is a replica. Even so, for anyone interested in American commercial history, the site is genuinely interesting — this is where the modern fast-food concept was born.

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A story
The McDonald brothers opened their first restaurant on North E Street in 1940, serving barbecue. In 1948 they shut down for three months, fired their carhops, reduced the menu to nine items, and reopened as a self-service burger stand. It was the world's first fast-food restaurant as we now understand the concept. Ray Kroc, the milkshake-machine salesman who franchised and eventually bought the company, never forgot that the idea came from San Bernardino.

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