McDonald’s Playland in West St. Paul

Thanks to West St. Paul Chiropractic and Dakota County for their support.

The McDonald’s playland came to West St. Paul in 1975, drawing children from all over the metro. The unique and iconic playground, with its signature train, created memories for a generation of children before disappearing by the early 2000s.

West St. Paul’s McDonald’s

Originally opened in 1961 by Gerald McKay, the West St. Paul McDonald’s was the fifth McDonald’s in Minnesota and 291st in the world.

Playland

Built in 1975, the playland included 18 pieces of playground equipment modeled after McDonald’s characters. The half-acre park is believed to be the second largest playland, behind one in Hawaii, and the first in Minnesota.

“It’s the most memorable of anything in West St. Paul,” said John Ramsay, who helped build the playland.

West St. Paul resident Dave Lynch remembers birthday parties and McDonald’s orange drink. His favorites on the playground were the “springy” Grimace and the Officer Big Mac Jail.

(Photos courtesy John Ramsay)

Construction

West St. Paul businesses Ramsay Nursery & Landscaping and Southview Garden Center worked on the project. The park is located on a hill above the restaurant, so it required a switchback path and lots of retaining walls.

• Construction woes: At one point during construction, a heavy rain came and washed out the progress, pushing all the retaining wall timbers and mud into the parking lot.

Grand Opening

The playland opened on July 19, 1975 with a dedication ceremony, appearance by Ronald McDonald, and more.

(Photos courtesy John Ramsay)

The Train

The switchback path required a special train that drove children up to the playland area.

Lynch remembers riding the train up to the playland, a tractor with several trailers of benches. “The tractor also had benches,” Lynch recalled. “But they were not preferred as it smelled like exhaust.”

Closing the Playland

By 1989, the McDonald’s corporation stopped making the outdoor play equipment and shifted to an indoor, padded model called PlayPlace. Rising insurance costs and lawsuits were part of the decision. There were 1,500 injury claims filed against the McDonald’s corporation between 1986 and 1991.

For the West St. Paul playland, insurance costs were an issue, but vandalism primarily lead to the closure. A mostly out-of-view playground proved too tempting and it became a target for graffiti and arson.

Last version: At some point in the 1990s the branded playland was mostly removed and replaced with a more standard jungle gym. There were a few last pieces of McDonald’s playland remaining. It’s unclear when this jungle gym and the last pieces were finally removed and the playland completely closed.

The playland today: A paved path curves up to where the playland used to be, but there are ‘no trespassing’ signs and it quickly ends in a locked gate. The area is empty and overgrown.

The Playland’s Second Life

TC Media Now founder Tom Oszman grew up in Maplewood, but his grandparents lived in West St. Paul and he has fond memories of visiting the playland. He remembers the metal play structures could get extremely hot in the sun and cramming 30 to 40 kids in the Officer Big Mac Jail.

Those fond memories led to a new collection: “I saw someone selling the stuff on Ebay—’how awesome would it be to have it in the backyard?'” Oszman said. “Then I bought one in Iowa and had to haul it home. I thought what have I done? But then people said it was the best thing. It brings so much happiness and joy.”

He has multiple pieces in his collection, including a stationary train from the West St. Paul playland.

Here’s a Fox 9 story about collecting McDonald’s playland equipment featuring Oszman:

Oszman also contributes to a Facebook group about the West St. Paul playland.

Playland Mural

The playland mural was added to the wall at the back of the McDonald’s property in 1983 by Rene Tchida.

• Stretching 155 feet and over the 10 feet tall in some places, the artist completed the mural in 40 days in August and September of 1983.
• Tchida told the Star Tribune her West St. Paul McDonald’s mural is “by far the biggest I’ve ever done.”

Circa 2000 View of the Mural:

(Photos courtesy John Ramsay)

2007 View of the Mural:

2025 View of the Mural:

(Most photos courtesy John Ramsay)

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