Auburn Gresham two-flats and bungalows: what a pickup looks like
Auburn Gresham filled in fast. Its population almost tripled during the 1920s, and that boom left the area full of Chicago bungalows and brick two-flat apartment buildings. The Auburn Gresham Bungalow Historic District alone has 264 brick bungalows from 1918 to 1932.
That housing decides how we pick up a car. A two-flat often has one garage at the back of the lot, shared by two households, with a slab or a gravel pad next to it. The car that stopped running might be in the garage behind a tenant’s car, or on the pad with a bike leaning against it. And the only way to reach it is the alley.
So when you call, tell us:
- which unit the car belongs to and who has the garage key,
- whether the other household’s car needs to move first,
- and if the alley side of the garage has a door that opens.
Our guide on alley and garage pickups walks through the setups that slow a tow down and the simple fixes.
Where Auburn Gresham starts and stops
Auburn Gresham runs from 75th Street on the north down to the high 80s and around 91st on its south side. Its east edge follows Halsted Street on the northern half, then moves in toward Vincennes Avenue and the Metra tracks farther south. To the west it reaches past Damen Avenue. Nearly every address here is in the 60620 ZIP code, which makes it one of the simpler areas to describe on the phone.
Its history goes back to small German and Dutch settlements, then Irish railroad workers who came for jobs and city services in the late 1800s. The South Side Irish Parade started here before it moved southwest to Beverly.
The run up the Dan Ryan to 87th and Racine
Our trucks start on South Yale Avenue in West Pullman. To reach Auburn Gresham, the driver goes up Princeton Avenue, east on 115th Street to Michigan Avenue, then north on the Dan Ryan. From the expressway it’s west on 87th Street and north on Racine Avenue, about seven miles in all. For homes near 79th, the driver just works north on the side streets from 87th.
79th Street through the middle of Auburn Gresham
Unlike its neighbours, where 79th is only a border, Auburn Gresham has 79th Street running right through its middle. Every block of it is on the city’s winter overnight ban, which takes in 79th from Cicero Avenue east to South Shore Drive. From December 1 to April 1 parking there is barred between 3 am and 7 am, snow or no snow, and the signs stay up year-round.
That’s a real problem for a car that doesn’t start. If yours is parked on 79th and you can’t move it, sell it before December or at least move it onto a side street.
Landmarks drivers know in Auburn Gresham
A cross street is good. A landmark is better. These are easy for a driver to find:
- Gresham station at 87th Street and Vincennes Avenue, on the Metra line to Joliet.
- Thurgood Marshall Branch of the Chicago Public Library, at 75th Street and Racine Avenue.
- St. Sabina Church, a well-known parish in the community.
- The St. Leo Campus for Veterans, with its residence, clinic and garden.
The old Calumet High School building, now home to two Perspectives schools, also works as a reference point. So does the new single-family housing at 87th and Parnell in the southeast corner.
Auburn Gresham vans, pickups and cars that won’t run
Not every dead vehicle on these blocks is a sedan. An old cargo van, a pickup with a bad transmission or an SUV someone meant to fix all qualify, and we buy them the same way. If it’s a bigger vehicle, our page on selling a truck, van or SUV explains what we need to know first. For a car that won’t start at all, the non-running car page covers dead batteries, seized engines and missing keys.
You don’t need to have it running, cleaned out or on the street. The tow is free and you’re paid when it’s loaded. You can get an offer online if you’d rather not call.
Next door to Auburn Gresham
East across Halsted, Chatham shares both 79th and 87th Streets with Auburn Gresham. Directly south, Washington Heights is the next area down, and to the southwest is Beverly, where the South Side Irish Parade moved. We pick up in all three.