Hartman Theatre

This was the second Hartman Theatre in Bandon and - like its predecessor had in 1914 - it was destroyed along with most of the town in a catastrophic fire on September 26, 1936.

Architected by George B. Purvis and built for Mr. and Mrs. E.A. Hartman, the theatre was a replacement for the city’s Orpheum Theatre in 1923. The Hartman Theatre transitioned to sound but Mr. Hartman committed suicide in the theatre in 1933 and was discovered by young theatre patrons. Mrs. Hartman continued the theatre operation. On September 26, 1936, while the Betty Boop cartoon was finishing and “36 Hours to Kill” was about to start, fire chief Curly Woomer interrupted the film and told the 400 patrons to both evacuate and help spread the word to evacuate the entire area. The Hartman Theatre was destroyed along with most of the entire town. Hartman would rebuild beginning in 1937 with the Bandon Theatre.

The original Hartman Theatre by the same family had burned in 1914. They would create the Grand Theatre in the Odd Fellows Building. The Hartmans then took over the competing Orpheum Theatre operating both silent houses. On October 25, 1921, the Grand Theatre burned to the ground and threatened to take out the Orpheum Theatre. The tugboat Klyhiam managed to save the Orpheum Theatre and surrounding businesses by pumping salt water from the nearby river. The Hartmans replaced the Orpheum Theatre with the second Hartman Theatre in 1923.

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