Historic photos of the worlds first floating McDonalds have resurfaced and fans are getting nostalgic: Good memories

A famed sunken ship is finally resurfacing.Photos from the peak era of the world’s first-ever floating McDonald’s are bringing the culinary curiosity back into the spotlight.On March 11, 1980, the floating Golden Arches officially opened for business in St.Louis, Missouri, just south of the iconic Gateway Arch.Built on a repurposed cement barge, the 702-ton boat was designed to resemble a 19th-century riverboat, with room for 134 indoor diners and an additional 200 on its open-air decks.The fast food chain initially hoped to open a location in the museum under the Gateway Arch, but as the St.

Louis Post-Dispatch reported, the government didn’t want to open the space to a private business.When Samuel Haynes, McDonald’s real estate manager at the time, had the idea to put the restaurant on a riverboat, it was met with opposition from the St.Louis Board of Aldermen, who feared that the floating Golden Arch would compete with the Gateway Arch.But McDonald’s executives believed in the idea, and a 25-year lease for the franchise was signed in February 1979.

The McBoat ended up generating $100,000 in tax revenue annually.“We have nothing like this in the whole world,” Pat Flynn, a senior vice president for McDonald’s at the time, told the St.Louis Post-Dispatch.“If we can find a large group of people together, we should be able to feed them, The Arch draws more than 3 million people a year,” Haynes added.

“Then we looked down at the river and saw a lot of people taking advantage of it, so we thought there was no reason why a company as adaptable and progressive as McDonald’s couldn’t do it.”Locals also were skeptical that it would cheapen the Missouri waterfront, but they came around to it eventually, and many have commented their fond memories on a Facebook post reminiscing about the floating McDonald’s.“I thought at first McDonald’s would make the riverfront look cheap, but it was pretty cool for a while,” someone admitted.“This w...