McDonald’s to Restore Landmark Restaurant in Downey

Look for a smile today on Speedee’s neon face in Downey.

Officials are scheduled to announce today plans to restore, reopen and expand the nation’s oldest surviving McDonald’s hamburger stand. That McDonald’s, at Lakewood Boulevard and Florence Avenue, was closed 22 months ago, triggering nationwide protests from fans of the red-and-white tile restaurant and its striking golden arches.

“I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it,” Downey’s Mayor Joyce Lawrence declared Wednesday. “It’s a real happy occasion.”

In a brief statement Wednesday, the McDonald’s Corp. said it would formally announce today the reopening of the 1953 eatery and relighting of its 60-foot-high sign of Speedee, the trotting burger chef.

“When reopened later this year, it will become the oldest active McDonald’s in the world. A memorabilia/gift shop will be added to provide opportunities for visitors to capture the nostalgia of this restaurant,” the statement noted.

The decision represents a turnaround for the company. For lovers of American roadside architecture of the ‘50s, it provides a treat more satisfying than a Big Mac and double fries.

Barbara Hoff, director of preservation issues for the Los Angeles Conservancy, praised the move and predicted that it will prove to be a smart business action.

The original Downey McDonald’s “was popular before it closed and with all the attention now, it will be even more popular,” she said.

McDonald’s Corp. cited earthquake damage to the facility and complained that it lacked indoor seating and a drive-up window as reasons for the closing. The company planned to move the sign of Speedee (the corporate logo in the age before Ronald) and other features to a new facility it was to build in Downey.

Protests by preservationists and delaying tactics by the city followed. McDonald’s was in the embarrassing position of fighting with people who claimed to love the company’s history more than the current management did.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1994 declared the Downey McDonald’s “an authentic icon of contemporary American life” and one of the country’s 11 most endangered landmarks that year. Gov. Pete Wilson also urged that the building be saved.