Cash for junk cars in Austin

Austin is the biggest pickup area on our map by land. It’s Chicago’s second-largest community area by area, running from the Metra tracks north of Galewood down to Roosevelt Road, and from the Belt Railway near Cicero Avenue out to Austin Boulevard and, north of North Avenue, Harlem Avenue.

Four neighborhoods in one

Wikipedia’s Austin article splits it four ways, and each one is a slightly different pickup:

• Galewood: north of North Avenue, between Narragansett and Harlem, up to the Milwaukee District West tracks. Mostly houses with driveways and garages. ZIP 60707.
• North Austin: Division Street up to Armitage and the tracks, Cicero Avenue to Austin Boulevard. Brick two-flats, small frame houses and story-and-a-half bungalows.
• South Austin: the largest piece, Division down to Roosevelt. Rowhouses, corner apartment blocks, brick three-flats and courtyard buildings, per the Encyclopedia of Chicago.
• The Island: the southwest corner, about a square mile with Oak Park on the west, Cicero on the south and the tracks and Eisenhower on the north. You can only drive in from Austin Boulevard or Roosevelt Road, which matters when you give us directions.

The drive out

From 2727 W Chicago Ave the middle of Austin, around Lake Street and Central Avenue, is about 4.5 road miles and 9 minutes: west on Chicago Avenue to Kedzie, south a few blocks, then west on Lake Street almost three miles. For South Austin, Madison Street is the direct way in, and Columbus Park at 500 S Central is about 5.3 miles. The Eisenhower runs through the south part of the neighborhood.

Oak Park starts across Austin Boulevard, West Garfield Park and Humboldt Park are to the east, Cicero is to the south, and Montclare and Belmont Cragin are to the north.

ZIP codes

Based on the city’s boundary files, about half of Austin is 60644, from Roosevelt Road up to around Chicago Avenue. Between Chicago Avenue and North Avenue it’s mostly 60651. North of North Avenue, the east part is 60639 and Galewood is 60707.

Finding the car

The Green Line runs along Lake Street with stops at Cicero, Laramie, Central and Austin; the Austin stop at Austin Boulevard and Corcoran Place backs right up to Oak Park. On the Blue Line, the Cicero station sits in the Eisenhower median. Columbus Park, the 140-acre Jens Jensen park with its lagoon and golf course, is the big landmark in the south. Austin Town Hall Park on Lake Street, modeled on Independence Hall, and Loretto Hospital are others.

Housing and parking

Austin’s homes are old and mostly multi-unit. About a quarter are single-family houses, another quarter are two-flats and a fifth are three- and four-unit buildings, and the median home was built in 1941, according to CMAP. Nearly 30% of households don’t have a car at all.

Permit zones cover a number of side streets, such as blocks of Gladys Avenue, Quincy Street and Monroe Street in the 5000 west block range. Street sweeping runs from April through November, with orange signs posted two days ahead.

City rules on Austin’s main streets

• Winter Overnight Parking Ban: Madison Street, Central Avenue and Division Street all cross Austin and are on the city’s ban list. No parking 3 to 7 a.m. from December 1 to April 1, snow or not.
• Two-inch snow routes: Central, Laramie, Cicero, Austin, Narragansett, North, Division, Chicago, Lake, Washington, Madison, Jackson and Roosevelt clear once 2 inches of snow falls.
• Abandoned and dilapidated cars: under Municipal Code 9-80-110, a car that can’t be driven, or hasn’t moved for more than 7 days and looks deserted, counts as abandoned, and the last registered owner pays the tow.

Next steps

If the car’s simply done, see non-running cars. An old pickup or work van gets its own page under trucks, vans and SUVs. Already booted on a South Austin block? Read selling a booted car in Chicago first.