Iconic Van Halen Burger Photo Installed at Missouri McDonalds

The iconic photograph of Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth standing underneath the McDonald’s arches on a winter day has been put in within the place the place it was taken.

Fans have turn into acquainted with Richard Upper’s image because it was shot throughout the two Van Halen members’ promotional tour of 1978. Upper had been despatched to hitch them in a limousine as they capitalized on curiosity within the band’s debut album, launched that yr.

At the opening of a brand-new restaurant in the identical location, Upper recalled the story, telling West Newsmagazine: “We were driving from KSHE down Watson and we saw the McDonald’s sign. We’re already hungry, and they said, ‘Let’s go, guys.’ So we did.”

He continued: “We got our meals and we were walking back to the limousine. I looked up at the sign and said, ‘Eddie, we can’t leave without taking a shot of this with you guys.’ So he’s rifling through his bag trying to eat ‘cause he’s really hungry, and he and David get perfectly right in the middle, under the sign, and I take a bunch of pictures. This was the best one.”

The present proprietor of the Crestwood franchise – nationwide restaurant No. 71 – confirmed it was the primary McDonald’s in St. Louis, in Missouri and presumably on Route 66 when it opened in August 1958. Nolan Ruiz defined that the unique constructing had been changed quickly after Van Halen and Roth had visited. That constructing was just lately knocked all the way down to make approach for a state-of-the-art institution, with the well-known image on show.

He added that there was one other level of native curiosity: “It’s how I met my wife and became the proud parent of four children.”

Watch A Short Documentary on the Van Halen McDonald’s Photo

Watch the Van Halen McDonald’s Photo Unveiling