What A McDonald's In The 1980s Looked Like

What would you do if you had a magic flying DeLorean that would whisk you back across a few decades? If you're food fans like us, you'd take the opportunity to visit a few long-vanished restaurant chains like Howard Johnson's or Chi-Chi's. It would also be fun to drop in on a chain that is very much still in existence to see what's changed over the years. Well, we don't have a time machine, but we do have the next best thing — a throwback photo of a 1980s McDonald's posted on Reddit that bears very little resemblance to the Mickey D's we know today. 

In the photo, the McDonald's is all done up in harvest gold, orange, and brown colors that seem like they may have been left over from the '70s, while one wall is adorned with a mural of Ronald McDonald riding in a donkey cart. Other walls also feature scenes from the life of a clown, but pride of place goes to a scary-looking statue of one of McDonaldland's Apple Pie Trees.

Redditors commenting on the post remembered a few other old-timey McDonald's features not shown in the photo. These included seats shaped like hamburgers, a phone that would let you "talk" to Ronald (a recording, of course), and even a merry-go-round. As one person lamented, "Modern McDonald's are cold and sterile ... The old McDonald's (80s-90s) had charm and character."

If we've got you reminiscing about the glory days of the Golden Arches, we have some consolation to offer, at least if you are in or around Beaverton, Oregon (or willing to road trip). According to Mix 106, the McDonald's in that fair city dates from the early '60s, but apparently hasn't undergone any major renovations since the '80s, or at least none that seem to have had a significant impact on the design. 

Unfortunately for fans of the over-the-top McDonaldland décor shown in the Reddit photo, the '80s-style Beaverton Mickey D's is far more restrained. The most retro thing about it is the pink and aqua color scheme and the funky geometric pattern on the front counter. It also has inward-curving windows and some of the seats are said to swivel.

In case you were wondering, the menu of Beaverton's own Wayback Machine is 100% up-to-date. Sadly, you can no longer order vintage menu items like the Cheddar Melt, McSpaghetti, or McDLT, although in the case of the latter two, would you really want to? They didn't earn their spots on the list of McDonald's biggest flops for no reason. You can, however, still get the very same Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, McChicken, and Filet-O-Fish that have been menu staples for decades.