Calumet Heights is named for a hill. Starting at about 91st Street and Constance Avenue, the ground rises into a stony ridge that was once an island in glacial Lake Chicago. Early settlers called it Stony Island because, from a distance, it looked like an island standing in open prairie. The Stony Island Ridge was bought by the Calumet and Chicago Canal Dock Company in 1870, and a railroad built along the western edge in 1881 opened the area up for homes.
The ridge, Pill Hill and Stony Island Heights
Three neighborhoods share the community area: Calumet Heights, Pill Hill and Stony Island Heights. Around 91st and Constance, the ridge means some streets and driveways actually slope, which is rare on the South Side’s flat grid.
That changes a pickup more than people think. On flat Chicago blocks, a dead car on a driveway is a simple pull. On a slope, the driver needs to know which way the car faces, whether the parking brake holds and whether the wheels turn. If you’re up on the ridge, give us those details when you call. And if the car is in a rear garage, say so, since the truck may need to come in from the alley.
Calumet Heights borders and ZIP codes
The area is bounded by 87th Street on the north and South Chicago Avenue on the east. Railroad lines form the west side and the south side, which follows 95th Street. Most addresses use the 60617 ZIP code, and a smaller share uses 60619.
Those rail edges are worth knowing. If your car is parked close to the tracks along 95th or on the western side, the nearest crossing tells the driver which way to come in.
How our trucks reach Calumet Heights
From our base on South Yale Avenue in West Pullman, the route goes up Princeton Avenue, east on 115th Street to Michigan Avenue, then east on 111th Street to the Bishop Ford Freeway. The driver heads north on the Bishop Ford, which becomes the Stony Island Expressway, comes off at 95th Street and turns north on Jeffery Boulevard. That’s about six miles.
No overnight ban street here, but snow still counts
None of Chicago’s Winter Overnight Parking Ban streets cross Calumet Heights. Several neighbouring areas have 79th Street on that list, so this is one rule Calumet Heights mostly escapes. The city runs a second rule, though: the Two-Inch Parking Ban, which covers about 500 miles of main streets and can be switched on any time at least two inches of snow fall. A car that won’t start is the one most likely to get stuck under it. Check the signs on your street before winter.
Old pickups, vans and SUVs in Calumet Heights
A larger vehicle that has quit is as welcome as a car: a pickup with a dead engine, a van that failed emissions, an SUV with a rusted-through frame. We buy them in any condition, keys or no keys. Our page on selling an old truck, van or SUV has the details.
Papers are the other common question. If the title is lost, tell us what you do have, for example a registration card or a bill of sale. Illinois rules decide which of those count for a scrap sale, and we confirm what works before the truck comes. The no-title selling page covers more of this.
Part out a Calumet Heights truck or sell it whole
Some owners with a truck on the ridge wonder whether to pull the good parts first, like the wheels, the battery or a newer stereo. Sometimes that makes sense, and sometimes it costs more time than it’s worth. Our guide on whether to part out a car or sell it whole walks through both sides. If you decide to sell it whole, you can start with an online offer.
Calumet Heights landmarks
The hill itself is the main one. Beyond that, drivers use 87th Street, Jeffery Boulevard and Stony Island Avenue as reference lines, and South Chicago Avenue marks the eastern edge. The nearest City Colleges campus, Olive-Harvey College, is just south in Pullman.
Areas around Calumet Heights
North across 87th Street is Avalon Park, and the same Stony Island corridor serves both. East of South Chicago Avenue is South Chicago, with its Commercial Avenue shops. Southwest, across the rail lines near 95th, Pullman begins, and we cover it on the same route from West Pullman.