One of the biggest draws in Houston, TX is the Johnson Space Center, home of NASA. To get into the spirit, and appeal to tourists, several local businesses have embraced a space motif. It's not uncommon to to see rockets and spacemen as a part of the neighborhood's decor. Even the gang with the Golden Arches get in on the fun with a special ambassador welcoming hungry guests:
The fry-clutching astronaut statue has been on the roof of this McDonald's for at least 15 years (around the first time I saw it) and was created by a local Houston artist. NASA is just down the road from this Micky D's so I like to think it's been frequented by real live astronauts, mission specialists and just rando goofballs from off the street like me.
The theme continues inside. Sure, I would have liked to see a spaceship themed playground and/or the employees dressed as bleep-blorp aliens but I had to settle for 2-D decor. All your favorite McDonaldland characters are decked out in their finest space gear in extensive murals along the walls of the play area.
I think it's also worth noting that the "
Mac Tonight" guy also makes an appearance. I'd like to think they added him specifically because he fits in with the celestial theme but my best guess is that the short lived 80s mascot was included because these murals were painted when he was at the height of his "popularity" (and, yes, I felt the need to put the word "popularity" in quotation marks).
Further dating the artwork is this tribute to the crew of the Challenger. It's a somewhat melancholy adornment for a playground yet it feels strangely appropriate.
Morose reminders of national tragedies notwithstanding, it's still a unique enough place to stop in after a a long day of touring NASA to pick up a Big Mac and Space Fries...although I guess they just call them fries. Anyhoo, more themed McDonald's please!
