tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post278171148125338981..comments2024-03-18T01:04:28.275-07:00Comments on San Fernando Valley Blog: Back To The Future Series #3: First McDonald's Restaurant in the San Fernando ValleyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-80200151011192707902017-08-03T13:16:12.202-07:002017-08-03T13:16:12.202-07:00I grew up in North Hollywood and visited "Pea...I grew up in North Hollywood and visited "Peaks" restaurant on a regular basis. I remember on the bottom of the large Peaks sign was a tiny sign that read "Licensee of McDonald's Corporation". As a kid, I always wondered what that meant. Years later, the Peaks sign was removed and replaced with the McDonald's sign. That outdoor restaurant was not torn down. It was remodeled and enlarged to become an indoor restaurant. My wife also grew up in that area and as it turns out, her great uncle purchased that location early on and the family still owns it today. He was from Chicago, and Ray Kroc drove to his house in the Chicago area to obtain the $1500 franchise fee for his first restaurant in Wisconsin. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-89385199914347626722016-06-14T19:01:55.222-07:002016-06-14T19:01:55.222-07:00Cool! I also heard that this North Hollywood locat...Cool! I also heard that this North Hollywood location was indeed the 3rd location that the McDonald brother's franchised, making it "store #4" (after their original San Bernardino store (#1), then Phoenix, AZ (#2) and Downey, CA (#3). Phoenix and Downey both opened in 1953, and in 1954 they opened NoHo (#4) Alhambra (#5), Sacramento (#6), Azusa (#7), and Pomona (#8)<br /><br />Peak's most definitely was always a McDonalds (no indie hamburger restaurant could've sold 15 million hamburgers!) In fact, when Dick and Mac started franchising themselves in 1953 and 1954, they allowed the franchiser to use their own name. (they were even surprised when Neil Fox named the first franchise in Phoenix "McDonald's") When the Peak's franchiser (Mr. Peak?) later sold to another franchiser they dropped the "Peak's" Now, I really want to see some pics of this place in the 50's or early 60s! I might take a short drive over there and see if there are any red and white tiles hiding inside!Gary Helsingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00991920911881136578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-6014197171522052632016-06-14T18:33:19.409-07:002016-06-14T18:33:19.409-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Gary Helsingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00991920911881136578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-62565352532055652222016-04-16T11:55:57.224-07:002016-04-16T11:55:57.224-07:00Next door to Peaks was St. Jane Frances church and...Next door to Peaks was St. Jane Frances church and school which I attended from 1951 to 1959 then graduated from U.S.Grant H.S. Madison was open during the summer and a 2 block walk from my house.<br /><br />Peaks was the place to go, we, from my class, use to sneak out of school for lunch. To us Peaks was first but I don't know the dates Peaks began. The food was the same, when McDonald's took over they only changed the name, then later the colors from blue and white to gold and white.<br /><br />Someone mentioned the drive-in, it was Victory Drive-in. Those were the days. <br />jenkinsdanielr@msn.com <br /><br />Daniel R. Jenkinshttp://www.drjclaims.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-11992871262737198122015-07-03T09:40:47.432-07:002015-07-03T09:40:47.432-07:00I remember Peak's on Victory Blvd. and I remem...I remember Peak's on Victory Blvd. and I remember when it turned into McDonald's. The arches were there from when it was Peak's and the sign still had the little man from Peak's even after it changed to McDonald's. In fact I just always assumed that McDonald's incorporated the golden arches into its use from the Peak's buyout and it just evolved. <br /><br />Everyone went there after school, from Madison Jr. High to Grant High and of course after a night at the drive in next door.<br /><br />As I recall, shakes were only 15 cents then and French fries were a dine.. .and only on Fridays they served fish, because in those days Catholics could only eat fish on Fridays . . <br />The link below is what the McDonalds looked like shortly after it changed hands from Peak's to McDonalds. <br /><br />http://www.mikanet.com/museum/images/burgers_2.jpg<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-9881616819738175342015-05-02T20:00:59.076-07:002015-05-02T20:00:59.076-07:00Re the McDonald's on Victory across from the K...Re the McDonald's on Victory across from the Kris Kristensen Swim School. My father took me to this swim school many times in the late 1950's. The McDonald's may have been there - I don't recall. But what I do remember is a very early Jack In The Box on the same side of Victory as we drove from Van Nuys. It even had the Jack actually popping out of the Box. My father said something to me about knowing the guy who owned, or started, the restaurant, but I have no idea who he was referring to.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10386139541361209076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-25041945484794259052015-02-13T09:17:48.924-08:002015-02-13T09:17:48.924-08:00ndeed. Every list I've seen agrees that the se...ndeed. Every list I've seen agrees that the second franchise by the McDonald brothers was Neil Fox's in Phoenix. Then the conflicts start as to the next franchisee- the Noho location seems most likely tho some sites say Downey. One site even shows Saginaw, MI as the second! All were built in 1953, so that's probably where the confusion come from. I've used Google Maps and Historic Aerials as you have to find some past locations, and although many sites say the original locations were demolished it's obvious that most (as Valley Guy wrote above) were either remodeled or relocated leaving the original building intact. Case in point is the Phoenix location- most sites say it was demolished, but a trip via Google Maps shows the building at 4050 N. Central Ave was obviously a McDonald's, plus Historic Aerials shows the building at that spot in 1958 was the McDonald's- the shadow of the arches can be seen! Unfortunately the one I worked at in 1980 has been demolished- the new one was built right next to it (and I mean RIGHT next to it- about a foot away from it to the south, where an abandoned gas station existed) so the old one could remain open. When the new one opened the old one was demolished and the drive thru lane was built there. Why didn't I take pics? The first McD's built in my area (Milwaukee) does still exist- as a dental office, but it still has the original shape. A new, much larger McD's was put up many years ago about a block to the north. Keep up the good work, I really enjoy this and the other investigations you've done!JTLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12878367646405178899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-374925712259464422015-02-12T21:41:31.496-08:002015-02-12T21:41:31.496-08:00JTL, thanks for the info. Sounds like there is con...JTL, thanks for the info. Sounds like there is conflicting info and I am not sure what to believe but seems like the Noho location was definitely one of the early franchises. Marty McFlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11529647889374572329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-24940161767955556002015-02-12T09:57:42.638-08:002015-02-12T09:57:42.638-08:00If you read the sandwich board at the classic Down...If you read the sandwich board at the classic Downey, CA location it states that it is the third to be franchised by the McDonald brothers. I've read other places that the second was the one in North Hollywood.JTLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12878367646405178899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-13345403660648051082012-09-29T03:09:02.101-07:002012-09-29T03:09:02.101-07:00In Roscoe, I remember that ,It is worlds top most ...In Roscoe, I remember that ,It is worlds top most old MC Donald restaurants, I think the year was 1950,but not sure.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.cafranchiseopportunities.com/edmonton-franchise/" rel="nofollow">edmonton franchise</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06286670283142881375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-60860155164276787292012-08-11T13:52:46.785-07:002012-08-11T13:52:46.785-07:00I remember a McDonald's on Roscoe near DeSoto ...I remember a McDonald's on Roscoe near DeSoto (where the Home Depot is now) from the last 1960s. It had the arches and red and white tile shown in the picture above. I'm not sure what year it was built, but it definitely was the "older" style.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-56606694478259807182012-04-14T22:53:09.167-07:002012-04-14T22:53:09.167-07:00The Peaks Resturant turned into a McDonalds was ow...The Peaks Resturant turned into a McDonalds was owned by my family members father his name was Tony DeMoura. I have seen the photos of Tony and Ray Kroc along side of Tony's Chrysler Imperial with the Peaks sign in the background, so nostalgic. Tony remained a partial owner for quite sometime along with some other investments including Vita-Pac Orange Juice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-19539580137623906092012-02-01T19:30:34.652-08:002012-02-01T19:30:34.652-08:00Hello Valley Guy,
Thanks for your comments on the...Hello Valley Guy,<br /><br />Thanks for your comments on the various posts on this site. I found a site which displays historical aerial images and I believe you are right about the existing sites not being demolished and instead were remodeled around the existing site to avoid costly downtimes. I added the pics to this post.Marty McFlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11529647889374572329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8366093636851252541.post-22585065943003465362012-01-08T18:52:39.476-08:002012-01-08T18:52:39.476-08:00That McDonald's on Victory might not have been...That McDonald's on Victory might not have been "torn down" after all. Many of them simply had the newer achitecture and inside dining areas built around the original structure, probably as a way to minimize down-time during the process.<br /><br />I know this because my childhood McDonalds, on Resdeda Boulevard just north of Devonshire, received this treatment and still stands today (remodeled yet again in recent years).<br /><br />We moved to Northridge in 1966, and from our front yard we could see the gigantic "golden arches" lit up at night. We'd occasionally ride our bikes down there with our dad for lunch. It looked pretty similar to the Downey one, with only walk-up windows and patio dining.<br /><br />On the right side of the structure was a place where you could stand up on this little stoop and watch the guy make french fries. That inner building is still intact, and today you walk past that same french-fry-watching spot to get to the restrooms.<br /><br />I actually see this layout in many of the current McDonald's. If you walk down a long, narrow corridor on the right side to get to the restrooms, that was an "original" that was updated to the enclosed style in the late '60s or so, adding that brown-ish architecture shown in the updated image of the Victory location.Valley Guynoreply@blogger.com