Van Halen @ Detroit-area McDonald's in 1978

[FlyingJ]

from the new book on their early years, Van Halen @ a snow-covered Detroit-area vintage McDonald's on their 1st tour. Anybody know where these shots were taken? SITE, a Shell station & some other businesses in the wider shots, I know the McD's on Van Dyke in Warren had a vintage sign but that ain't Warren... http://dontfreak.tumblr.com/post/66515390520 http://markweinguitarlessons.com/for...len-1979.55343 http://vanhalenrising.tumblr.com/pos...th-eating-some

[Honky Tonk]

from the new book on their early years, Van Halen @ a snow-covered Detroit-area vintage McDonald's on their 1st tour. Anybody know where these shots were taken? SITE, a Shell station & some other businesses in the wider shots, I know the McD's on Van Dyke in Warren had a vintage sign but that ain't Warren... http://dontfreak.tumblr.com/post/66515390520 http://markweinguitarlessons.com/for...len-1979.55343 http://vanhalenrising.tumblr.com/pos...th-eating-some

The Mikey D in Southgate on Eureka also had the old style sign, but it's not Southgate either. Are we sure it's even Detroit? Could be the photographer is wrong.

[Smirnoff]

Doubtful in Detroit, very.....

[jackie5275]

Doubtful in Detroit, very.....

They did have a tour stop in Detroit in March, 1978 playing at the Masonic Temple. The only other McD's that has that type of sign is the one on Telegraph in Dearborn Heights. But this really could be anywhere. Nearly 40 yrs ago, these signs were probably more prevalent than now.

[MikeM]

Looks like Telegraph. I'm sure there's a stretch that has a transmission line along it like the one in the background.

[jmpatrick]

More photos...

[jmpatrick]

[RaumVogel]

That does not look like Telegraph in Dearborn heights in 1978.With the telephone poles in the backround my guess would be more like 8 mile.

[jcole]

What was "Site"?

[Honky Tonk]

What was "Site"?

That IS the million dollar question.

[jerrytimes]

I wonder if that is the Warren location on Van Dyke north of 696. There is an oil change shop north of the McDonalds [[The Shell Station).

[jcole]

Site was/is a gas station chain

SITE is one of the oldest surviving Private Brands, dating back to about 1930
when founded by Alvin Siteman. The company continues to operate today
although some of their stations are major brand c-stores.

[MikeM]

I don't have any resources close to the time frame, but I assume any McDonald's with an arch like that is relatively old. From a 1967 Yellow Pages, McDonald's around Detroit [[which doesn't include Macomb or Oakland Counties):

13330 Ford, Dearborn
25660 Michigan, Dearborn
6412 N Telegraph, Dearborn Hts
2106 Dix, Lincoln Park
18403 Grand River
26930 Plymouth, Redford

And the only Site Oil location was 10801 W Eight Mile.

Going back to 1961, the only McDonald's listed was the Plymouth Rd spot.

The street in the photo doesn't look to have a median like Eight Mile or Telegraph or Michigan. More like Van Dyke.

[Honky Tonk]

I don't have any resources close to the time frame, but I assume any McDonald's with an arch like that is relatively old. From a 1967 Yellow Pages, McDonald's around Detroit [[which doesn't include Macomb or Oakland Counties):

13330 Ford, Dearborn
25660 Michigan, Dearborn
6412 N Telegraph, Dearborn Hts
2106 Dix, Lincoln Park
18403 Grand River
26930 Plymouth, Redford

And the only Site Oil location was 10801 W Eight Mile.

Going back to 1961, the only McDonald's listed was the Plymouth Rd spot.

The street in the photo doesn't look to have a median like Eight Mile or Telegraph or Michigan. More like Van Dyke.

Well, it "could" be the Dearborn Heights. If you do a Google Streetview, there are similar power poles along the street.

[mtburb]

That could also possibly be the former one on Fort Street in Riverview, but it doesn't look like that part of Fort Street.

Doesn't look like Lincoln Park either.

[jmpatrick]

I may have found the answer using Detroit Yes. This thread has a link to former McDonald's restaurants: http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...ace-in-Detroit

Here are the McDonald's: http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/forgott...mcdonalds.html

One is listed for 8005 W. 8 Mile Rd. Here's the Streetview: http://www.google.com/maps/@42.44587...8i6656!6m1!1e1

The SITE Oil station is listed above as 10801 W Eight Mile Rd. When that address is pasted into Google Maps you get the same corner as the former McDonald's.

Was 8 Mile Rd. renumbered at some point?

[Dan Wesson]

Good work going on here...

These SITE gas stations must have been a west side thing because I can't remember any of them on the east side. ??

[Honky Tonk]

I may have found the answer using Detroit Yes. This thread has a link to former McDonald's restaurants: http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...ace-in-Detroit

Here are the McDonald's: http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/forgott...mcdonalds.html

One is listed for 8005 W. 8 Mile Rd. Here's the Streetview: http://www.google.com/maps/@42.44587...8i6656!6m1!1e1

The SITE Oil station is listed above as 10801 W Eight Mile Rd. When that address is pasted into Google Maps you get the same corner as the former McDonald's.

Was 8 Mile Rd. renumbered at some point?

Nice job jmpatrick!

[CassTechGrad]

If they were playing at the Masonic Temple then there would be no possible reason for them to be staying anywhere near 8 Mile. You gotta figure that on their first tour they must have been living on the cheap, eating at McDonalds. They would have been staying somewhere downriver so that after they were done here they could hit I75 or I94 to Chicago or Cleveland for the next show.

[MikeM]

I thought that too which is why I didn't think it was Eight Mile or Van Dyke, but there could be any reason for them taking a side trip. Out of curiosity, I looked at their tour schedule: they played Milwaukee the night before and Dayton the following night. They packed a lot into eight weeks before leaving for Europe and Japan. That's a lot of McDonald's:



They did two more jaunts around the US later in the summer, stopping in Detroit again September 14th to play Cobo.

[stingbeelee]

Hi jmpatrick; 10801 Eight mile is west of Wyoming near Meyers rd. The McDonalds that was on eight mile was on Eight mile and Greenlawn, about 3/4 of a mile east of Meyers. I was at that McDonalds when they opened [[I think it was 1968). I do not remember the sign in the pictures at the Eight Mile-Greenlawn location.

[mtburb]

Considering that the next night they would be heading to Dayton, that must place that McDonald's somewhere close to I-75. This looks like it could actually be Telegraph in Taylor, but I think I doubt that.

[lafontaine]

Fiund this which indicates the McDonalds in question is the first one owned by Ray Kroc in Des Plaines IL. This is now a closed McDonald museum.



Chicago History– ‏@Chicago_History




Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth , first tour 1978 at the McDonalds in Des Plaines, Illinois.@McDonalds @VanHalen






1:11 PM - 2 Jan 2016
94 RETWEETS125 LIKES

[canuck]

The hair styles alone are worth the price of Big Mac.

[Jimaz]

McDonalds in Des Plaines, Illinois Street View

The large building behind is McDonalds world headquarters.

Nothing seems to match the photo.