Barrington White House wins BACOG's Klein award

Barrington's White House restoration project, which turned a 19th-century downtown home into a community and cultural center, was awarded the Barrington Area Council of Governments' 2015 Donald P. Klein Award last week.

Village President Karen Darch accepted the award at a dinner Oct. 30.

The award recognizes excellence in the current projects and activities of member villages and townships. The organization created the award in 2010 to posthumously honor Donald Patrick Klein, its first and longtime executive director.

Barrington purchased the 117-year-old White House in 2007 as part of downtown revitalization efforts, and two years ago it launched a campaign to raise more than $6 million in donations to fund renovations.

The fully restored Main Street house was formally opened to the public this summer as Barrington celebrated its 150th anniversary. It features a top-floor ballroom, which can hold 150 people for banquets, wedding receptions and musical performances, and second-floor office space for community organizations.

Other nominees for the Klein award included Flint Creek Restoration from the village of North Barrington, where 1,700 feet of stream bank was restored in cooperation with 10 private landowners. The restoration stabilized eroded banks, reconnected channelized streams to the historic floodplain, added native plants and improved aquatic habitat.

The Barrington Area Council of Governments is an organization of nine governments that promotes cooperative regional strategies on emergency management enhancements, groundwater study and conservation, legislative advocacy, and member communications and training.

Its members are Barrington, Barrington Hills, Barrington Township, Cuba Township, Deer Park, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington and Tower Lakes.