However, the Des Plaines restaurant marked the beginning of future CEO Kroc's involvement with the firm.

Kroc's restaurant was the first McDonald's built in a colder climate, and some adaptations were made to the design, including a basement with a furnace.

McDonald's realized that the Des Plaines restaurant had historical significance, so it built a replica.

With gold arches placed over a glass and metal, red-and-white tiled exterior, the building largely followed the McDonald brothers' original blueprints, which they had introduced when they began franchising in 1953.

The ground floor exhibited original fry vats, milkshake Multimixers which Kroc had been selling when he first encountered the San Bernardino McDonald's restaurant, soda barrels, and grills, all attended to by a crew of male mannequins in 1950s uniforms.

Included are red and white tiles from the original restaurant and string ties worn by employees from the 1950s to the early 1970s.