Bandon Bank on Historic List, July 15

The First National Bank of Bandon in downtown Bandon is Oregon’s latest entry in the National Register of Historic Places. The temple-front bank was designed by Bror Benjamin Ostlind, a well-known and prominent architect from Marshfield, Oregon, present-day Coos Bay. Ostlind was born in Karlstad, Sweden in 1885, and moved to Marshfield in 1906. He was an active community member, starting the Long Fellows Club, an organization for extra tall men (he was 6’4″). In this role, he was instrumental in putting pressure on large hotels and Pullman cars to install accommodations for extra-tall persons. He was also a successful businessman, owning several enterprises in the community. In the bank building’s design, Ostlind combined the use of a relatively new and structurally robust material, concrete with “cold twisted rod” reinforcement. The Neoclassical style of the building resulted in an attractive and functional commercial bank building that conveyed the stability of the institution to the community, while providing a secure and fire-resistant location for the bank. The design was successful, and the building survived the Great Fire of 1936 that razed downtown Bandon. Since 1955 the upper floor of the building has been the home of Bandon Lodge No. 130 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. The ground floor currently houses two retail shops.