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All Canada British Columbia Maple Ridge Friendship 500

Friendship 500

A floating McDonald's built for Expo '86 is now a derelict relic on Burrard Inlet.

Maple Ridge, British Columbia

Added By
Bess Lovejoy
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Friendship 500   Taz on Flickr
Friendship 500   Taz on Flickr
Friendship 500   Ashley Fisher on Flickr
Friendship 500   Tom Magliery on Flickr
McBarge in April 2015   CanadaGood / Atlas Obscura User
McBarge during Expo’86 in Vancouver   CanadaGood / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Meant to appeal to the increasingly class-conscious consumers of the 1980s, the "McBarge" was a floating McDonald's constructed on a barge for Vancouver, British Columbia's Expo '86 world's fair.

The menu was typical McDonald's, but the watery locale was supposed to add panache, alongside the wooden floors, potted plants, and framed art. Unlike other McDonald's, the kitchen was hidden, and the food was delivered to a front counter via a conveyor belt. By most accounts, the restaurant (built for a rumored $8 million) was a success but attempts to moor it at a permanent location once Expo '86 ended failed.

In 1991, the new owners of the site where the barge had been moored asked the company to tow it elsewhere. The Friendship 500 was moved to a site near an oil refinery in Burrard Inlet, and was more or less forgotten about for at least a decade. It was rediscovered in the early aughts, perhaps thanks in part to its use a filming location for Blade: Trinity. Developer Howard Meakin and his wife Kathy bought the boat in early 2010, and have submitted a proposal to the Mission, British Columbia city council for a waterfront development that would use a refurbished McBarge as the centerpiece. Meanwhile, the barge has been vandalized and graffitied, its Yuppie decor slowly tarnished by a constellation of rust, mold, and bird poop.

Update 2016: The current owner had the barge towed to Maple Ridge to undergo renovations.

Update 2018: The Friendship 500/McBarge is now docked behind the Imperial Cedar Products Ltd sawmill in Maple Ridge.

Update 2025: It’s tipped over.

Related Tags

Boats Mcdonalds Restaurants Abandoned Shops

Know Before You Go

Visiting may or may not be possible, depending on whether the Imperial Cedar Products Ltd saw mill allows and gives permission to visit their site.

Community Contributors

Added By

Bess Lovejoy

Edited By

CanadaGood, Brownstar, bluceleste87, HiredBelly...

  • CanadaGood
  • Brownstar
  • bluceleste87
  • HiredBelly
  • EricGrundhauser

Published

January 14, 2015

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Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McBarge
  • http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mcbarge-meakin-mcdonald-s-expo-86-icon-bc-place-science-world-burrard-inlet-maple-ridge-1.3374410
  • http://www.eater.com/2016/3/13/11214098/mcdonalds-mcbarge-makeover
Friendship 500
23672 River Rd
Maple Ridge, British Columbia, V2W 1B7
Canada
49.185158, -122.565685
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Tradish's The Ancestor Cafe

Fort Langley, British Columbia

miles away

Riverview Hospital

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miles away

Faerie Village of Redwood Park

Surrey, British Columbia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Maple Ridge

Maple Ridge

British Columbia

Places 2

Nearby Places

Tradish's The Ancestor Cafe

Fort Langley, British Columbia

miles away

Riverview Hospital

Coquitlam, British Columbia

miles away

Faerie Village of Redwood Park

Surrey, British Columbia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Maple Ridge

Maple Ridge

British Columbia

Places 2

Related Stories and Lists

Fleeting Wonders: Welcome Back, McBarge!

boats

By Cara Giaimo

The McBarge: A Failed Floating McDonald's That Wants a Second Chance

abandoned

By Bess Lovejoy

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