Volo Auto Museum seeks to relocate Des Plaines McDonald's museum

VOLO – The Volo Auto Museum has reached out to McDonald’s Corp. to try to relocate the museum and replica of the hamburger chain’s first restaurant from Des Plaines to Volo. McDonald’s previously said the building will be razed in December.

In a Facebook post shared more than 1,000 times, the Volo Auto Museum said it reached out to the burger giant to try to save the McDonald's Store No. 1 Museum.

“We have been contacted by numerous residents about the closing and demolition of the Des Plaines McDonald’s museum with pleas to save it and relocate it in Volo. We love the idea!” the auto museum said in the post. “We’ve reached out to McDonald’s headquarters hoping there is an agreement that could be made.”

McDonald’s Corp. previously announced that the building would be destroyed next month and the land donated to Des Plaines, citing poor attendance as the reason for its removal.

Ray Kroc built the first restaurant in 1955 in Des Plaines. He franchised the brand from the original owners, Richard and Maurice McDonald. The museum opened in 1985 with Kroc’s original sign out front.

The auto museum is asking residents to cast their votes to decide whether relocating the replica is a good idea.

Brian Grams, director of the Volo Auto Museum, said in a statement that his goal is to relocate and restore the entire structure.

“Our interest is in preserving this American icon,” Grams said. “If, for some reason, it does not work out that we can move the entire structure, we certainly hope to come away with some artifacts. But the goal is the whole thing. We’ll see.”

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.