If you’ve forgotten what a McDonald’s restaurant from the 1990s looked like, fear not! There is a lonely one that appears to be frozen in the past. It’s located in Alaska, so it doesn’t see many faces, but recent photos have earned the derelict building fame. Abandoned decades ago, the restaurant now stands almost entirely intact, transporting viewers back to earlier years.
Built and left on a naval base
In 1943, during the Second World War, the US Armed Forces established the Adak Army Base and Naval Air Facility. It was built on the island of Adak, one of the over 65 Aleutian Islands that Alaska lays claim to.
The base was built with the goal of increasing the population of the surrounding community to 10,000, and after years of operation, this number felt more and more achievable; the population did, indeed, grow.
With the number of people in the area ramped up, several services were necessary to provide resources and comfort. That was when the McDonald’s restaurant popped up, along with other familiar franchises, such as Pizza Hut and Baskin Robbins. U
pon its opening, it became the northernmost McDonald’s in the world, serving residents the beloved American fast food classic.
Stuck in the past
In 1997, the Adak Army Base and Naval Air Facility shut its doors, after it was determined to be too expensive to maintain. This had a massive effect on the surrounding community, as it served as the lifeline for those on Adak Island. Without the base, the population quickly dwindled, dropping down to just over 226 as of 2021.
With the closing of the base and the rapid decline in population, the McDonald’s couldn’t survive. As people packed up and moved away, the restaurant also shut down for good.
The restaurant was abandoned with practically everything inside.
Still standing today, it’s a blast from the past, as the interior shows the design many would recognize from the 1990s, with dusty rose and blue seats, frosted glass and wood accents. Even the menu board from the drive-thru still has the old menu and prices, with a Jurassic Park offer to “Dino-Size” one’s meal.
The last Happy Meal toy to be offered by the establishment was from Bobby’s World, which aired from 1990-98.
People remember when the McDonald’s was operational
Photos of the abandoned McDonald’s went viral, with many explaining that they remember dining at other restaurants that looked like that back in the day. There were also some who chimed in to share their own experiences at that very same one abandoned in Adak, Alaska.
One user claimed that his parents were the previous owners of the McDonald’s, writing, “Created a Twitter just to say, my parents owned this McDonald’s store! We lived on Adak for 5 years and left when the navy base closed down. This is amazing to see!”
Another recalled dining there as a child, saying, “Grew up on Kodiak and spent many days on Attu as a kid (Coast Guard). Remember still to this day going to that McDonald’s, was a big deal for us kids since the other McDonald’s was on Kodiak.”
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Many speculated about the prices displayed on the menu board, saying how they appear to be similar to those we see today, despite decades of inflation. However, the restaurant’s super remote location caused the cost of supplies to be high, which is reflected in the price of the goods it provided.