The World's Oldest Operating McDonald's Is Hiding in Downey

Los Angeles County is home to the oldest continuously operating McDonald's on the planet, and most Angelenos drive right past it. The Downey location opened in 1953, making it the third McDonald's ever built and the oldest still serving today, a distinction separate from the original 1940 San Bernardino site. It's a textbook piece of Googie architecture, with twin red-and-white parabolic arches and a 60-foot golden arch crowned by Speedee, the chef mascot the brand used before Ronald McDonald.

The landmark was nearly demolished after the 1994 Northridge earthquake before the Los Angeles Conservancy and the Downey Historical Society stepped in to save and restore it, and it reopened in 1996. Alongside the working restaurant sits a small free museum and gift shop built as a replica of the McDonald brothers' first stand.