
THE POSTWAR WORLD 1950–2000III
POPULUXE: THE AMERICAN INFLUENCE 1946–19615
MCDONALD’S
MCDONALD’S
Des Plaines, Illinois, USA
Stanley Meston (1910–1992), Architect
Los Angeles, California, USA
1955
During the 1950s and 1960s, fast-food chains—
epitomized by McDonald’s—revolutionized the
roadside restaurant by catering to young, afflu-
ent Americans who were part of the emerging
and fast-growing automobile culture.
McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast-food
chain with more than 30,000 restaurants
worldwide, serving nearly 64 million customers
daily, was founded by Ray Kroc (1902–1984) in
1955 after he purchased the rights to a small
hamburger chain begun ...