Vintage photos show what it was like to eat at McDonald's in the 1970s

Product shot of a McDonald's Big Mac hamburger in 1977.

Henry Groskinsky/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

• The first McDonald's franchise opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955.
• By the 1970s, McDonald's had grown into an increasingly popular fast-food establishment.
• The Quarter Pounder, Quarter Pounder with cheese, and Egg McMuffin were also added to the menu.

By the 1970s, just a decade into its operation under businessman Ray Kroc, McDonald's...