Lagendorf park is a nice, clean facility that is heavily frequented by residents. The building is…read moreextremely relevant to the community, as the Barrington Area Job Fair is held there. To me, the best part about the facility is the historic significance of the location--where the Battle of Barrington took place. The Battle of Barrington was an intense and deadly gunfight between federal agents and notorious Great Depression Era gangster, Baby Face Nelson, that took place on November 27, 1934 in the town of Barrington, outside Chicago, Illinois. Very cool if you are a history buff like myself.

I lived in Barrington years ago, when my son was in grade school & middle school…read more At that time, and still to this day, Langendorf Park was *the* park in Barrington Village. It's huge, and has everything you ever wanted in life, including an aquatic center and even a golf course. I feel a story coming on....... So I had an art gallery just a few blocks from the park, at Hough St. & NW Hwy.. My son would often come to the gallery after school to do homework, or just to check in with me. One day he rode his bike to the gallery, with his friend Gerry. The gallery was set back off the street, separated from the road by a parking lot. The sidewalk in front of the gallery did not get a lot of foot traffic. My gallery had two huge windows, right on the sidewalk in front. I sold a ton of artwork just by displaying it in those big windows facing the busiest intersection in town. When the stop light was red, I had a captive audience, haha..... My son and his friend parked their bikes in front of one of the big windows. This town was so safe it was like Mayberry, and there was no reason at all to wheel the bikes inside, so we thought. We could even see them clearly from inside. So I clearly saw when two big "kids", probably pushing 20 years old, jumped on those bikes and took off. By the time we all ran to the front door, the thieves were already a block away. My son had waited a long time for his new bike, a gift from his dad. That bike was his transportation around town, and would you believe I still have it, and sometimes I ride it. As I saw those 2 men ride off on the kids' bikes, my heart sank. I figured it was a done deal, a lost cause. The boys ran in the direction the bikes had been headed, but I still had little hope. The surrounding business people began to come outside, aware of what had happened, but helpless to do anything. Until.......like a character from an action movie, a blonde woman appeared out of nowhere. She ran after the thieves, so fast that I didn't recognize her as my boyfriend's sister, Denise, who worked in the drugstore a couple doors down from the gallery. Denise, the track star. Denise, the marathon runner. Denise.....the savior of the day. She ran like a bat outta hell, like she'd been shot from a cannon, across busy parking lots, down the highway toward Langendorf Park. She caught a glimpse of the thieves entering the park. I had called the police by now, and they were on the way. And my son and Gerry, and me and my employees, and half the shopkeepers in the plaza, were in hot foot pursuit of Denise and the bicycle thieves. If only I had a video of all those people running down Northwest Highway in this sleepy, boring community where nothing ever happened......haha.... You can already guess that Denise caught up with the thieves, in fact just in the nick of time..... just as they were struggling to hoist the bikes over a back fence in Langendorf Park. They ended up abandoning the bicycles and taking off on foot, through the park, with the mob chasing them. The cops caught them. There were charges filed, and eventually a court date. My son had to take off school to go to court and testify. The thieves, who turned out to be like 19 years old, claimed it was all a prank, all in fun (although they were strangers to us)......and the judge let them off. Boooooooooo.......... But at least the bikes were safe. I'm glad for that tall fence at the back of the park. I'm also glad for all the hot summer afternoons when the pool was a godsend. Somebody in Barrington please post pics of this great park, wouldja?!

For toddler aged children, this splash pad was a dream! Everything was low to the ground and able…read moreto be reached, there were lots of buckets for transfer play, and plenty of areas with lighter splashing water. My son (almost 2yo) had so, so, so much fun for about 3 hours! He came home absolutely exhausted- a mom's dream for a good nap! It was $4 admission per person, which I found totally cheap! They have plenty of picnic tables to eat, as well as areas to park strollers and lunch bags. There was also lots of seating available if you wanted to sit and watch your toddler play (especially helpful if you're pregnant and need a little break from standing!). The bathrooms were small, but clean. Honestly, all of the essentials were available and it truly made for a great morning!

What a cute place for kids to play! Perfect for toddlers or younger kids. Great on a sunny hot dayread more