Rest in peace McBarge. 1986 to 2025.
This barge was built as part of the 5 McDonald’s restaurants for Expo 86 which was the World’s Exposition on transportation and communication in Vancouver, Canada. After the end of the World’s Fair in 1986, McDonald’s attempted to operate the restaurant on site but was not allowed by the city of Vancouver. So they sold it to another owner named Howard Meakin and when he went to inspect it, he found the barge completely trashed and broken into. He eventually moved the barge to another location where it sat abandoned in a river for 24 years before being towed to port where it eventually sunk in 2025. The barge’s owner Howard Meakin was never able to raise the wreck as he died a month after it sank along with any hopes of saving the barge. Since it appears that he did not give ownership of the barge to anyone in his will, it will likely remain wrecked for years to come. Much to the annoyance of the nearby landowners and city council as the Canadian government has not interest in removing it. At least not at this time.
Tragically struck an Iceberg Lettuce, and sank.
I'll see myself out.
Nobody’s gonna toppings that pun.
Draw me like one of your French fries
That romaines to be seen.
You guys make me hungary
I might need to czech the fridge..
Now the post is in a real pickle. I cant ketchup with you all.
Hey at least this thread has been nice. Not a fan of McRibbing
Surely you mean
Nobody is going to top that BUN?
You deserve a patty on the back.
Thank you! You too! Ketchup with you on the next one!
Freshest fillet o fish you’ll ever have
Patty’s ova
🤭👍🏻
So it's still half capsized to this day? Nothing has been done about it?
No sadly. They wanted to get it done as soon as possible as it looked terrible on the waterfront especially when they are trying to remove trashy boats from the river to keep the river environmentally clean. While the barge isn’t an environmental hazard, it looks trashy sunken in the river. A man who operates a modular home’s business next to the river is not thrilled it sank there as he wanted to put a barge there himself to expand his business and manufacture and ship modular homes from that port and transport them by river.
Obviously, he’s very unhappy it sank next to the river because no one is interested in removing it as it has been there sunk for about 9 months now.
Looked trashy even when it was new
It's almost like a preemptive version of the brutalist garbage design they use now.
No one is forcing the owner to remove it? Bizzare
Edit: damn guys did you know the owner died right after? Gosh I wish that was in the OP! (It was in the OP, as several redditors helpfully pointed out; I’ll leave this here to enshrine my shame)
He’s dead.
Edit: No worries lol.
That's the plan with a lot of these corrupt individuals / politicians nowadays.
Dick Cheney died fat and happy...
Huh? He died of old age lol. He was 80 and wanted to save it. Was nothing corrupt about him besides that he wasn’t able to save it.
The barge sat abandoned for nearly 30 years by the time he died.
He profited and died living the good life, now everyone else has to clean his mess. Not mentioning the decades of chemicals and God knows what else that leeched into the water...
Nothing leeched into the water. The wreck and assessed and after the assessment was done it was determined to not be an environmental hazard. It just looks trashy sunken. He genuinely wanted to saved it but that plan sank and his plan to save it died with him. I don’t think he’s a bad guy. He didn’t profit off of the wreck. He was a land developer.
I don't trust the government as far as I could throw them...
You don't know what it's leeching nor what the assessment included. For all you know they have "acceptable" levels of leeching so as to not have to do cleanup. Never said he profited off the wreck. He profited while it was operational and then had zero clean up cost when it was abandoned.
Why are you deepthroating and defending a multimillionaire+ owner, multi billionaire corporation, and a multi trillionaire country. If they aren't to blame, then who, the fish?
He didn’t own the restaurant while it was in operation. A McDonald’s franchiser or McDonald’s corporate (probably corporate) sold it to him 3 years after it closed in 1989. By the time he bought it in 1989, it had deteriorated significantly and was more or less ransacked as trespassers had gone aboard to steal copper wiring as stated by Howard Meakin himself in 2021. Howard Meakin never made money off of this venture. He bought the McBarge because he was a developer and owned it for the rest of his life while trying to save the barge unsuccessfully probably because as a long time Canadian from British Columbia, he was interested in its preservation.
I suggest you dig into this a bit deeper because what you said is not correct at all.
Documentary about the McBarge https://youtu.be/W9mc4PsXU5E?si=BySTS7Z4odMGdIn2
Howard Meakin interview in 2021: https://youtu.be/dsyBznAHBEw?si=ReyEuKNGpLx5_kmR
Full interview with Howard Meakin in 2021: https://youtu.be/gtCqIFWSaHQ?si=_kqjq8Csbuvs5sQp
Howard Meakin bought it in 1989 when McDonald’s had given up fighting for the future of the restaurant after Vancouver repeatedly struck down their request to operate the restaurant in Vancouver. It never operated outside of McDonald’s hands and only operated for 6 months in 1986 as part of Expo 86. Also, there’s no evidence that Howard Meakin was ever a millionaire. He had a good working relationship with McDonald’s because he developed restaurants for the company and wanted to develop the McBarge. No one expected it to sink as the footage shows from 2021, the McBarge was in great condition prior to it sinking despite sitting abandoned for so long.
Please do not spread misinformation when it can be easily looked up. Especially on Wikipedia. This information can easily be found so I’m always perplexed as to why people say things that are obviously false.
The post says that the owner died right after it sank.
Dude dipped out at a good time, to be honest
There's never a great time to die but if I'm going to die, it may as well be right after my McBoat sinks.
He was interviewed 4 years prior to the McBarge sinking and he seemed alright. But alas, no one owns it sadly. He was 80 years old when he died.
Fair enough should have read the post instead of looking at the comments
Salvage is an odd duck. Howard Meakin, the owner passed in April 25 right after reporting the barge was sinking. Now Transport Canada has to locate the new owner or deal directly with the estate.
On top of that, a salvage team has to be available, and they expected payment, which either comes from the new owner/estate, the local government or Transport Canada.
There was a similar issue in Milwaukee WI (see SS Minnow) and then the owners were known.
The SS minnow is in Milwaukee? I always thought it was washed ashore on an uncharted deserted isle?
There was a boat abandoned at McKinnely Beach in 2024. I named her the Minnow and made the google tourist site. Others provided the raves and decorations.
The owners of the Milwaukee Boat speak (allegedly, via a wild Google Maps review)
The actual SS minnow that was used for the TV show is in Nanaimo BC. It's been fully restored and you can hire it for three hour tours if you want to. Only roughly 75 kilometers from the mcBarge so you could technically see both in the same day.
Offering three hour tours! That’s hilarious.
So what would happen if the owner had left this barge to a member of his family in his will while it was still afloat? Would that person now be forced to pay for its removal you think? Or can they say they don't want the barge at all at that point?
If they accept the inheritance, yea, its their problem to solve and fines to pay. Idk about Canada but in the US you can decline an inheritance as long as you do it fast.
You can still do it even if theres nobody else to recieve it - it would default to the government in that case.
Unless that owner was rich as well, thatd definitely be an inheritance to disclaim lmao. No need to touch that debt if you weren't involved, can be the governments problem instead.
Weird. I live on the Columbia River in Portland Oregon and I've seen small boats and others maybe a bit smaller than this get removed by some sort of government agency. I know a new fund was started a few years ago but I've seen them removed even 10 or 15 years ago. It's kind of amazing how often boats sink, I never realized until I lived on the river.
I would think the area of the McBarge would be more proactive than us. Also, I do realize that we still have a million sunken boats too.
Smaller boats are a tad easier to bring up and remove.
In Vancouver?
It was in Vancouver from 1986 to 1989.
So what really happened was that it could have lasted 90 years however there is a law restricting how long flooring barges may be in operation without extensive retooling. Without those crucial improvements and maintenance, you have five years to scrap it after the date the barge turns 34.
If anyone wants to know more about this, all you have to do is Google “McDonalds Rule 34”
You can still see it on google maps! The photo is a few years old so it's not sunk yet
https://maps.app.goo.gl/wSLFPpnzEcwZ2nD97
r/titlegore
Legit read it 5 times thinking I had a stroke
Sorry haha!
That intrusive "and" threw me off
the only thing wrong is the first sentence has an "and" that shouldn't be there
Caused / called as well.
ha, I didn't even see that, my brain just read it as called.
Correction: Looks as if it was the 500th McDonald’s restaurant in Canada.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-rise-fall-and-mysterious-disappearance-of-the-mcdonalds-paddleboat
Highly suggest you watch this as well: https://youtu.be/W9mc4PsXU5E?si=pnkfeCO6IKMmKUH4
A guy named Jake Williams made that documentary and toured the McBarge 4 years before it sank and interviewed the owner onboard. That can also be found here: https://youtu.be/dsyBznAHBEw?si=6nJysEUr-kNcLnFp
I had watched that video about a year ago, was hoping they’d finally turn it around! Kinda sad it sank
thanks!
I thought someone had bought it as was going to refurbish it into something like a house boat. I remember the video where they took the tour of the vessel and thought was what the plans were. Sadly it sank and now’s an eyesore.
He wanted to make it into a deep sea interactive museum or a restaurant which was never approved sadly.
The McBarge could be seen in Blade: Trinity (which came out 21 years ago! 😖)
1 McRib please
St.Louis also had a floating McDonalds.
I grew up in Missouri and visited St. Louis more times than I can remember. But my earliest memory of St. Louis is eating on the floating McDonald’s.
Went there for lunch on a field trip to the Arch during grade school. And again in high school.
Awesome, I went there on a field trip to Arch as well in elementary too, must of been around the same time!
https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-rise-fall-and-mysterious-disappearance-of-the-mcdonalds-paddleboat
That Filet-o-Fish was fresh!
Google maps has a view of it
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Maple+Ridge,+BC,+Canada/@49.1841635,-122.5673129,3a,41.2y,348.18h,40.35t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sCIABIhBiHcCePgc88-toeg3kgSGd!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2Fgpms-cs-s%2FAPRy3c-Awmm_zDcIBkheg2Yhzgw8j1E4aABwPwoODdOpWeYJVH1DTY1qic-Vz093ko2B_UhpBu3UQYqj-foXoE6aNUcsSBVtY3L21SAEV8Cu-2vkOOan4cuQmGyuh7MYtS8vywpHA0Qh3qvXhTA%3Dw900-h600-k-no-pi49.65052453502817-ya348.17901250260076-ro0-fo100!7i12000!8i6000!4m6!3m5!1s0x5485d3614f013ecb:0x47a5c3ea30cde8ea!8m2!3d49.2193226!4d-122.5983981!16zL20vMDF3bDMy?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTIwMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
I love this.
Oh my gawd
The sea will take what it wants, and the sea was hungry that day.
I grew up in the lower mainland, never knew there was a floating mcdonalds there
The McSunk
I ate there at Expo 86 when on a class trip from the east coast. Kind sad to see it like this.
The McBarge has always freaked me out, even in the photos of it in operation. Something about the design makes it look like there should be more "hull" sticking out above water. It is a shame that it sank, though, it's such an interesting piece of Expo and nautical history.
It always makes me wonder who can afford to buy a barge of this magnitude and then let it rot to nothing
39 years old? Just a kid.
It died at 39, out of respect for it's customers who did the same
Thing looks super buried in the mud too. That or it gets deep off that dock quick cause that sucker is wide. Probably makes it so much harder to remove.
Do any post-sinking interior or underwater pics exist? I want to see what that looks like.
Also, I was quite excited to see this thing operate again. Raising this without destroying it (Which it likely already is, since it's more of a floating building than a boat) would be incredibly hard.
Bargy McBargeface
Can we please just float it to Porteau Cove and add it to the dive attractions there
Probably meant to last 90 years while being maintained properly. For how long was it abandoned before it sunk ?
Edit: I learnt to read, thanks for answering my question OP
I am curious as to where the 90 year expectation for the longevity of the barge is from. I remember walking around it when we had to do some inspections when it was still moored in False Creek in the 2010s sometime and was surprised it was still afloat then.
Yeah. It had been taking on water as early as 2013 as it began to list to one side then. However, its owner Howard Meakin said it was built to last 90 years. It sounds like he was not properly up keeping the barge itself and didn’t have it inspected before it sank. At least not in the last 3 years.
Thank you, so just a false narrative from the most recent owner then. That barge was never designed to last 90 years even with proper maintenance and repairs (unless you wanted to consider being dry docked and given a whole new hull). I remember being told by people in the maritime industry that it was only meant to last up to 30 years but I may be mis remembering that.
Photos 5-8 actually left a little knot in my stomach.
It was just 39 years old like that not quite a long time
Well, it didn’t even make it to near half its life expectancy.
It’s just a ship plus imagine if a ship like titanic saw 39 years in service at least that would have been something compared to this stupidly built raft type thing
Ok thank you
Philly had a hooters that was also a barge and basically floated away and was sinking
Ah man, now I’m McSad
Wasn’t there one of these in St.Louis MO with the same fate?
https://youtu.be/W9mc4PsXU5E?si=QZDjn0ajoi8b1nFS
About the McBarge
The real tragedy is the fact a big Mac used to cost 1.75
/r/titlegore
90 years with proper maintenance and correct usage
When did it start to properly sink like in the pictures? Great story behind it.
It started taking on water in 2013 as it was listing by then but its owner claimed it was in fine condition as it really way. I saw video of the owner last aboard the vessel in 2021 talking about saving the barge. The barge completely sank in March, 2025 and the owner of the barge died in April, 2025.
Would have made an ideal Presidential Yacht for the current Whitehouse occupant.
You're not in the boat business
It was built to last 90 years with constant maintenance. For having been abandoned afloat for most of its existence, 39 was a pretty good run.
Well Howard Meakin himself said that who owned it while it was abandoned for like 20+ years. He probably thought it could last 90 years.
No boat stays afloat without maintenance. Simple as that.
Ah the McBarge. Even before it capsized I was freaked out by it but I'm pretty sure it wasn't actually in operation long - it always looked abandoned
Yeah. It spent the vast majority of its life abandoned sadly.
There was a post on reddit about this thing being cleaned out.
It was completely gutted when taken to this port in 2016. It has been there ever since. It was awaiting any sort of use that never came sadly. The entire barge basically died with its owner.
I remember being on it back at Expo 86! Sad to see it on its side like that.
Now you can get a sub at McDonalds?
That's a McShame.
Here it is on Google Maps (Still afloat on satellital pictures)
PD: Read the reviews LMAO
Neglecting basic maintenance will sink a boat just as surely as hitting an iceberg.
Whoa... Blast from the past. I went there when I was a little kid during expo '86. I vaguely remember it having conveyors for the orders to come out on, or something wacky like that. Little me thought it was really sophisticated. Haha.
Rest in McPieces.
https://preview.redd.it/5j1yytaco36g1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd73880691c554753f0d8a7f7eaa64f4722897a6
The irony that the Burger King ad with SpongeBob is in the thread. Lol
It's like it was eating Maccas it's whole life
What a tremendous waste of resources
Do you know where this ship sink ?
Search McBarge on Google Maps. It’s in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Just off the Fraser River.
It’s McOver
Why would they ever build it to last for 90 years?
Well, the barge had several watertight compartments and was built in a way where it could be towed anywhere but it couldn’t move under its own power. However, it began taking on water as early as 2013 as it was seen listing while abandoned. Howard Meakin obviously didn’t check its watertight compartments before it sank although I’m not sure what caused it to sank. It was completely gutted by 2025.
It was built by a licensed naval architect named Robert Allan who had a firm founded in 1928 so there was a lot of experience in building the barge.