This May Be The Most Beautiful McDonald’s In The Whole World, And What It Looks Like…. [PHOTOS]

When you think of your local McDonald’s restaurant, a building of ‘beauty’ isn’t exactly what comes to mind.

Except for one “island” in the US, where a number of McDonald’s eateries are actually former mansions, one of which has been labeled the “most beautiful” in the country, if not the entire globe.

It’s difficult to ignore while driving through New Hyde Park on Long Island why this specific McDonald’s stands out from the others. This McDonald’s has plenty of styles and a rather legendary history, but there isn’t a golden arch or red and white advertising in sight.

The grand structure, which spans two stories and has a massive staircase near the entry, is actually a 19th-century converted mansion that sits alongside a string of shops and warehouses.

The stately structure was originally a farmhouse erected in the late 1700s that later served as a burial home before becoming a series of eateries. But by the time 1985 arrived, the golden arches had purchased the decaying structure and transformed it into what is now known as the “most beautiful” Macca’s shop in the nation.

The two-story white weatherboard building was almost demolished by the fast food franchise because they thought it would be too difficult to restore, despite the fact that the converted house now draws Big Mac enthusiasts from all over the world.

Following substantial opposition from the Long Island community, McDonald’s decided to renovate the homes rather than demolish them and build out the interiors to accommodate the restaurant. In essence, the McMansion of all McMansions was created.

The doors swung open in 1991, marking the opening of the 12,000th McDonald’s worldwide and the only one in the US in a completely refurbished structure.

A McDonald’s representative claimed in an interview with Insider that the chain’s takeover of the structure was a complete “disaster.”

“When we took over this building, it was a disaster, a real eyesore, there were pigeons all over. We had to gut the building, take it down to the rafters.”

“There were pigeons all over. We had to gut the building, take it down to the rafters.”

Nick Carr, a movie location scout, described how he didn’t give the Golden Arches much thought until he came upon the actual structure in an essay for Scouting New York:

“Nothing too special about that, except where the McDonalds should have been, there seemed to be a big white mansion. Maybe it was around back or something?’ Carr wrote. ‘And then I realized the mansion was the McDonald’s. Holy crap. I practically expected a maitre d’ to greet me as I went inside.”

Source: AWM