Photos show what it was like to eat at McDonald's in the 1980s

Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise location in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955. That year, he founded McDonald's System, Inc., which would become the McDonald's Corporation we know today. 

By 1958, McDonald's had sold 100 million burgers, and the restaurants had taken on a signature design style that prominently featured the chain's iconic "golden arches."

This London restaurant, pictured in 1985, looks remarkably similar to urban McDonald's restaurants of today. 

This outdoor courtyard with its wooden tables and benches looks quite different from most McDonald's seating areas today.

There are still fancy, unique McDonald's restaurants around today.

Before the 1960s, the McDonald's menu was simple. It included burgers, cheeseburgers, fries, milkshakes, and other fast-food classics. The first new item to be added to the national menu was the Filet-O-Fish sandwich in 1965.

In 1968, the Big Mac was released nationwide, followed by the Quarter Pounder with cheese in 1973. In 1979, Happy Meals were introduced for the first time. 

According to USA Today, many diners in the 1980s were looking to reduce their fat intake and were shaking up their diets by introducing more lean protein and poultry and cutting out red meat.

For McDonald's, adding chicken to the menu was a no-brainer.

Today, employees often wear T-shirts that reflect the chain's most popular and current promotions, like the Travis Scott or Saweetie meals, or grey polos with yellow accents.

For '80s McDonald's-goers, the restaurant was a symbol of America — which translated into the chain's advertising campaigns. 

In honor of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, McDonald's introduced the slogan "If the US wins, you win." McDonald's customers would receive a scratch-off ticket that revealed a certain sporting category with every purchase.

According to The New York Times, if a US Olympian won gold in that category, they could exchange the ticket for a free Big Mac. A silver earned you free french fries, and a bronze medal won customers a free Coke.

According to the Tuscaloosa News, customers were startled when Reagan made an unscheduled stop at the Oklahoma McDonald's in 1984.

"The President of the United States ordered a Big Mac, a large order of fries and sweet tea, proffered a $20 bill from his right front pant pocket, got his $17.54 in change, and looked around for a place to enjoy his meal," a reporter on the scene later wrote in 2006. 

When asked about the last time he had eaten at McDonald's, Reagan replied that it was before he "got this job."

"But I kind of miss it sometimes," he continued. "I figured as long as I had the opportunity, I might as well take advantage of it and stop."