Abandoned MCDONALD'S on ADAK ISLAND in Alaska
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 1993 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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A B O U T
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.
B I O G R A P H Y
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
Decades, by AK (via https://uppbeat.io/t/ak/decades)
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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.)
Reddit gang where you at
I was stationed there in 89 for eighteen months. I was glad to leave. Harsh weather.
Without a doubt, the LONELIEST McDonald’s on planet earth.
I’m here from Reddit. Thanks for the tour!
The menu sign brings back, a lot of memories of my youth…
That’s what happened to many of these basis after the Cold War was over, it got closed down and many places like this people moved out and fled. These places really are stuck in a place in history.
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!
Most of the broken glass and torn up buildings came from the hurricane and cyclones
Hearing the wind blow while watching the grass dance is therapeutic ☺
Why there still so many vehicles there?
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.
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.
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.
Those roofs look to be in perfect shape. My next roof will be metal like these!
In Alaska and I bet that their ice cream machine is broken.
Man that menu is such a good throwback, brings back those childhood memories.
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.
Any gold out there still buried?
I wonder if you can get in from the roof. It looks easy enough to get up there.
Watch the entire Adak series! → https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbr03ysWTUnt2UtcS0_OIiT_5dOervR-4
Thank you for taking the time to travel to remote location and document it so well.
Bobby’s world??? That really took me back to the 90’s!!