Vintage photos show what it was like to eat at McDonald's in the 1970s
Before the introduction of high-tech cash registers, McDonald's employees took orders by hand and gave them to the kitchen.
By the 1970s, the company was well-established and beginning its global expansion.
In 1967, the first McDonald's restaurant outside the US opened in Richmond, British Columbia. By 1970, the chain had sold over 6 billion burgers.
The self-service concept allowed customers to order at the counter and watch as their meal was being prepared by employees.
McDonald's meals were served on plastic trays, which customers could then bring over to a dining-room table to enjoy.
After the release of the Big Mac in 1968, the burger rose in popularity throughout the 1970s to become the chain's signature menu item.
In 1973, the chain added two more signature burgers to its menu: the Quarter Pounder and Quarter Pounder with cheese.
In 1979, Happy Meals were introduced to attract parents who wanted to feed all family members at an affordable price.
Dining in at McDonald's was popular among families, who could sit, grab a cheap bite, and even play cards.
In this photo, a family plays cards at a McDonald's in Mill Valley, California, in 1973.
This is what Ronald McDonald looked like in 1974.
Ronald McDonald was introduced in 1963 during a Washington, DC-marketed advertisement for the restaurant. In the ad, Ronald McDonald pulled hamburgers out of his belt and had a McDonald's cup for a nose. His hat was a tray with a Styrofoam hamburger, fries, and a milkshake on top of it.
McDonald's considered changing Ronald McDonald's character to a cowboy or spaceman, but those ideas were quickly discarded.
You could even get married at McDonald's.
Annette Scaramozza and Anthony Francis are pictured at their wedding ceremony in a McDonald's in 1975.
