Walking Tour - (4k) Old Town Bandon, Oregon

Bandon is a small town located on the southern Oregon coast and has a population of about 3,000. It was named by George Bennett, an Irish peer, who settled nearby in 1873 and named the town after Bandon in Ireland, his hometown. It is also sometimes called "Bandon-by-the-Sea".
Bandon has a lovely beach with interesting 'sea stacks', a marina, the Coquille River lighthouse, and is the home of the famous Bandon Dunes golf course. It has a variety of lodging in all price ranges as well as a number of restaurants. Face Rock Creamery is located in town. South of town you'll find miles of cranberry bogs, as 95% of Oregon's cranberries are grown in Bandon.
The core part of Bandon is called "Old Town", although it's not really very old! Nearly the entire town was burned in a massive 1936 fire which spread rapidly via the oily gorse bushes which ironically were imported by George Bennett.
Bandon was named one of the "Coolest Small Towns in America" by BudgetTravel. The Old Town Marketplace Farmers/Artisan Market is open Fridays and Saturdays 10am to 4pm, from the first of May through December. Enjoy a leisurely walk through a piece of Americana discovering boutique shops, art galleries and tasty treats.

[@zuzannawisniewska4464]

See you at the annual Bandon Crab Festival.We always had a good time.Greetings from Fort Worth, Texas. Great video. Thanks.

[@backpackaroundtheworld]

Crab Fest sounds fun! We'll definitely check it out!

[@scotttrimingham8639]

Winter River Books is a must see! Tell them Scott T sent you.

[@backpackaroundtheworld]

Independent local bookstores are the best!

[@McIntyreBible]

My friend lives in Bandon (I live in North Bend, OR) and she and her husband love it there.

[@backpackaroundtheworld]

It was very nice.

[@kendog1000x]

What time of day was this? Where are the people?

[@backpackaroundtheworld]

this video was taken on a Sunday afternoon in the winter, it was very quiet

[@alexbowser141]

Bandon is a dining town ... empty stores ... and every restaurant is closed or for sale ...

[@guitardzan5641]

Fishing, the cannery, logging, and the sawmills are gone.
Lloyds Restaurant was once a busy restaurant/lounge with live music on the weekends. Now, it's open occasionally. The last several owners went out of business..... The Minute Cafe was an outstanding restaurant with their signature Giant Burger. It's been closed for a long time.... The tour walked by Dave's Radio. It's been out of business for a long time as well...The windows are covered up with brown paper.
Tourism and flipping properties are the two major industries.....Real estate operators sell properties to people who hope to resell.
North of Bandon is The Dunes golf course. It was hoped they would bring in cash to the local economy. I doubt those hopes are as fruitful as they were imagined. The Dunes is a multi million dollar operation with it's own facilities. Some of its employees live in Bandon or nearby.
There is a terrific housing shortage in Bandon. Renting is difficult to impossible. Landlords have their pick of potential tenants.
If you see anyone walking, it's probably a tourist, or one of the homeless. Locals drive. Shopping is limited to two grocery stores, a hardware store , a couple of home supply stores and two gas stations....As well, as the tourist traps.
The young people generally leave for the cities as soon as they can. Or hang around and sell each other drugs.
The population of Bandon is a lot of retired people. They want things quiet. The town motto is ,"Get off my lawn!"