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Largest McDonald's
In the World?
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Spanning the Will
Rogers Turnpike, I-44, near
Vinita,
Oklahoma is this 29,135 square
foot McDonald’s restaurant. Seating some 300 hungry hamburger
enthusiasts, it was once touted as the largest McDonalds in the world.
Later another "World’s
Largest McDonald’s” was acclaimed to be in Moscow, Russia. But now,
the true leader is in Orlando, Florida, in a building decorated to look
like a large bag of French fries.
But this McDonald’s spanning over the
interstate is still an interesting photograph opportunity, if not still
the "World’s Largest.” With a highway exit on each side and a golden
arch on the facade, visitors can take a view in a window seat to watch the
nation roar by mere inches below.
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World's Largest McDonald's in
Vinita,
Oklahoma,
June, 2004, Kathy Weiser
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Vintage
postcard of the Glass House long
before it
turned into McDonalds.
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However, McDonald’s
didn’t build this restaurant. In the 1960's it was known as the
Glass House Restaurant, when Howard Johnson's was the "flavor of the
decade” rather than McDonald’s, and life was a little slower.
While it still touts itself as the World’s
Largest McDonald’s, and square footage wise, it is large, the McDonald’s
portion of the building is about the same size as what you would find in
any shopping mall. The rest of the area is taken over by tourist
information, a gift shop, seating areas, and other retail centers.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated November, 2010.
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