Abandoned MCDONALD'S on ADAK ISLAND in Alaska

I flew to Adak Island – a remote Alaskan island in the north Pacific Ocean – to explore its abandoned US military base. Surprisingly, the base included a McDonald's that opened in July 1986. But the restaurant was closed in 1994 as the Navy gradually decommissioned the base. Its original menu sign and other aspects of the building remain frozen in time.

More than 6000 people lived on the base at its peak in the 1980s. However, the base closed in March 1997, and most buildings were abandoned. Now, Adak Island has only 33 permanent residents.

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ABOUT
Past the Present Future is a film series by globally recognized photographer Chris Luckhardt. The series views the PAST through a lens in the PRESENT with an eye to FUTURE development.

BIOGRAPHY
Chris Luckhardt has documented and photographed some of the most iconic and viral images of abandoned places around the world. He was among the first photographers to publish photos in the press from legendary abandoned places like Hashima Island, Nara Dreamland, Michigan Central Station, and Six Flags New Orleans. His body of work has led to interviews and collaborations with The White House, Netflix, Ford, GQ China, ABC News, Good Morning America, Scholastic Canada, Yahoo Japan, and many more. In 2016, the Obama administration invited Chris to photograph a private citizen "haunted" tour of The White House.

M U S I C L I C E N S E D

#mcdonalds #abandoned #alaska #chrisluckhardt #pastthepresentfuture

[chrisluckhardt]

NEXT VIDEO → "Ghost Town in the Sky – Abandoned Wild West Mountain Top Theme Park"

[sammyism]

We were there from 1984 to 1986. I remember how excited we all were when the McDonald's was built. It was a real moral booster!

[DerelictToDecay]

Man that menu is such a good throwback, brings back those childhood memories.

[shillsdontspookme]

We lived in Sandy Cove when my dad was stationed on Adak. He made Chief on this little island in the early 90s. I used to ride my bike to this McDonald's with my babysitting money and I always got the two cheesburgers meal! Man, nostalgia hurts so weird. . .
Birthplace of the wind ❤

[Scorptique]

Hearing the wind blow while watching the grass dance is therapeutic ☺

[BigSplenda]

Omg i remember those little swinging doors on the drive thru windows!!!

[robwilcox]

I pulled into Adak while in the service. We saw those golden arches while pulling in, got excited, then found that it had closed. Total bummer, but was a nice reminder of home in that very desolate place.

[galgotgame]

I lived here for four years in the early 90s as a kid, so weird to see it like this now!

[UniqueU]

Bobby's world??? That really took me back to the 90's!!

[dw]

I was there in late 1994 when McDonald's Corporate sent a crew to Adak to retrieve the arches that stood by the main road. Once unearthed, they were taken down to Sampson's area and palletized and barged off-island, concrete abutments still attached.

[DennisR-vz]

I'm here from german newspapers. Really cool footage, it took me back to the good old times a bit.

[thegen]

Wonderful footage. My grandfather spent time here in the 1950s.

I hope the DoD & Navy consider to reopen this base as a pivot to both the Pacific and the Arctic region. With Russia militarizing in the Arctic and China pushing out to the Pacific having this base (and potentially an icebreaker stationed here) as a practicality.

[ESUNintel]

I had one of those Bobby’s World toys - number 3. Used to love that show 😊
Thanks for sharing this awesome video. Didn’t know about this island; seems pretty peaceful.

[RareCnC]

A lot of those old signs and posters are worth they’re pretty penny to the right collector, especially being vintage and original

[trainnerd]

The menu sign brings back, a lot of memories of my youth…

[AmberTheFangirl]

I just wanna keep that menu. The pricing… the Bobby’s World toy line… it screams 1990’s😭

[LadyCatFelineTheSeventh]

I remember that McD's being packed. Too bad you couldn't get inside. And that sun! Very lucky. Surprised to see the houses still standing. They were is horrid condition when they were new - leaky roofs with lots of structural problems. I think people only lived in then 1 or 2 years before the base was closed, then they were used as a 'hotel" for visitors (which was how I got to stay in one.) Not sure if that is still happening (probably not.)

[rzoo]

I miss the old McDonald happy meal toys. And sure remember those drive through windows. Best days ever.

[Trumpasaurus]

It's neat to see they put in the effort to make it look like a MCD's in the building shape too. My friend's dad was stationed at another Aleutian base called Shemya that was also closed down. I can't even imagine being so isolated.

[Link-Man]

What an amazing place, certainly has a edge of the world vibe to it. Never thought I'd see footage from one of those islands.

Keep up the great work showing us highly unusual places we never would have heard of otherwise.
Have to say I sort of miss your commentary like you did in the earlier videos.