Cash for junk cars in Humboldt Park

Humboldt Park starts about a block west of our base. If your car is anywhere between Sacramento Boulevard and the tracks near Cicero Avenue, it’s one of the shortest pickups we do.

The neighborhood in one look

The Humboldt Park community area runs from Bloomingdale Avenue (the 606 trail) on the north down to the Union Pacific tracks at Kinzie Street on the south. Its west edge follows the rail line between Kostner and Cicero, out by Kenton Avenue. On the east side the line is irregular: Kedzie Avenue between North Avenue and Augusta, then Sacramento Boulevard, with a strip reaching along Chicago Avenue and Grand Avenue toward Talman.

One quirk surprises people. The park itself, between Kedzie and California Avenues, is officially in West Town, not in the Humboldt Park community area. Locals call the blocks east of the park “East Humboldt Park” and everything west of Sacramento “West Humboldt Park.” West of Pulaski you’re in K-Town, where the avenues run Keeler, Kildare, Kostner, Kenton under a 1913 street-naming plan.

The trip from Chicago Avenue

From 2727 W Chicago Ave, the center of the neighborhood around Division and Grand is about 1.5 road miles away, west on Chicago Avenue and then along Grand Avenue. For the far west blocks we stay on Chicago Avenue, Division Street or North Avenue, all main streets that run straight across the area. Pulaski Road and Kedzie Avenue handle north-south runs.

ZIP codes

Humboldt Park is split across several ZIPs. Based on the city’s ZIP and community-area boundary files:

Two-flats, alleys and where cars die

This is two-flat country. According to CMAP’s community snapshot, about 31% of homes are in two-unit buildings and another 26% in three- and four-unit buildings, with a median year built of 1930. Most residents rent. The buildings sit on narrow lots with alleys behind them, which is where a dead car often waits: on a parking pad, in a detached garage, or tucked against the back fence.

Chicago has about 1,900 miles of public alleys, and many of them don’t drain to a storm sewer, so they hold water after a heavy rain. If the car is on a soft or flooded pad, tell us; it affects how the truck approaches.

Several side streets west of Sacramento are residential permit zones, including blocks of Spaulding, Lawndale and Hamlin Avenues. A car without a zone sticker on one of those blocks is a ticket waiting to happen.

City rules that hit stalled cars here

• Winter overnight ban: Division Street and Kedzie Avenue are on the city’s list. From December 1 to April 1, no parking 3 to 7 a.m., snow or not. The city’s winter parking page puts the minimum cost of a tow at $150 plus a $60 ticket and $25 a day in storage.
• Two-inch snow routes: Grand, Chicago, Division, North, Pulaski and Kedzie all clear once 2 inches falls, at any hour.
• Abandoned vehicles: under the city’s abandoned vehicle rules, a car left 7 days or more and apparently deserted can be tagged and towed.
• Street sweeping: runs from April into the fall on a ward schedule, with orange signs posted ahead of time. Humboldt Park spans parts of five wards, so check the sign on your own block.

Landmarks drivers use

There’s no ‘L’ or Metra station inside the community area, so people steer by streets and buildings: Orr Academy High School on Pulaski, Westinghouse College Prep on Franklin Boulevard, the old Pioneer Trust bank building at Pulaski and North, and the three branch libraries. The Green Line stations at Kedzie, Conservatory and Pulaski sit just to the south on Lake Street.

Next steps

A car that quit on the block is covered under non-running cars. If it’s already booted or towed, start with our booted car guide. For how the truck gets it out of an alley, see free junk car removal. Next door, we cover West Garfield Park and East Garfield Park the same way.