World's oldest McDonald's begins construction of drive-thru

The historic McDonald's in Downey is adding a drive-thru to better compete with other restaurants. Photo by Alex Dominguez

Work has begun on the addition of a drive-thru to America’s oldest operating McDonald's. 

The historic location – located at the corner of Florence Avenue and Lakewood Boulevard – has struggled in recent years to compete with other McDonald's locations.

The location currently offers only walk-up window service, which has left it at a disadvantage to neighboring fast food establishments with drive-thru windows, including another McDonald's down the street that was recently renovated, officials said.

In order to help curb the struggle in revenue, McDonald's approached the Downey Planning Commission last April with plans to add a drive-thru to the location, which the commission passed unanimously. 

Plans call for the drive-thru to run through the back alley without affecting the integrity of the historic façade. 

The location has been eligible to be listed on the National and State Registers of Historical Places since 1984, but to this day has not been included.