West Lawn sits just above Ashburn on the city’s Southwest Side, and for our drivers getting there mostly means heading north on Pulaski Road. Masters Cash for Junk Cars covers the whole community area. On the City’s map it runs from 59th Street down toward 79th, with Central Park Avenue on the east and the rail lines by Cicero Avenue on the west.
The drive up Pulaski
From 79th and Pulaski, the middle of West Lawn is about a mile and a half north, a few minutes of driving with one turn at the end. An address nearer Cicero just means a short jog west on 63rd Street or Marquette Road (67th Street). If the car is close to the Clearing side of the tracks, tell us. The approach changes a little over there.
Spots West Lawn people use to give directions
Pulaski Road is the spine most callers measure from. The Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture is on it, the only museum in the country devoted to Lithuania. At 63rd and Pulaski, the Capitol Cigar Store’s tall Native American statue has been a neighborhood marker long enough to turn up in the movie Wayne’s World.
Down at 76th and Cicero is the Ford City site. The mall opened there in 1965, on ground that had held a wartime aircraft engine plant, and later the Tucker Car Corporation. The mall is now defunct, but everyone still knows where Ford City is, so it works as a landmark.
West Lawn Park, at 65th Street and Keeler Avenue, is another one. Neighbors lobbied for a park on that spot after the war, and the Park District only got the land in 1948, after a delay, because the owners wanted to build homes on it. And plenty of West Lawn residents ride the Orange Line from Midway station, which sits just over the line in Garfield Ridge.
Houses, driveways and the curb
West Lawn stayed marshy longer than Chicago Lawn to its east. Houses went up in the 1930s, and the Park District’s history notes that brick single-family homes multiplied west of Pulaski during the World War II years. In a neighborhood built like that, most of the junk cars we collect are in a driveway, inside a garage or at the curb out front.
A garage off the alley is fine. So is a car that’s been sitting on flat tires for a year. If it’s boxed in behind the house, read the alley, garage and backyard pickup tips before we come.
Snow routes that cross West Lawn
Chicago has a parking ban for about 500 miles of main streets that switches on after 2 inches of snow, day or night, in any month. The details are on the City’s winter parking restrictions page. In West Lawn, the City’s route data puts these streets on that 2-inch list:
| Street | Stretch on the snow route list |
|---|---|
| Pulaski Road | 52nd Street to 71st Street |
| 63rd Street | Harlem Avenue to Stony Island Avenue |
| Marquette Road | Cicero Avenue eastward |
| 59th Street | Cicero Avenue eastward |
The City says the 2-inch ban doesn’t get activated often. When it does, cars parked on those streets can be ticketed or relocated. A dead car is the one vehicle on the block that can’t move when the signs go up, so a side street is the safer place to leave it while you wait for us.
How a West Lawn sale works
You call (708) 838-5553 or fill in the get a cash offer form. We ask what the car is, what shape it’s in, what papers you hold and exactly where it’s parked. Then you get a number. If you accept, we set a pickup, and same-day is often possible.
The driver loads the car and pays you there. You’re never charged for the tow, which our page on free junk car towing explains in more detail. Crash damage is no obstacle either; see wrecked and totaled cars if an insurer has already written yours off.
About paperwork: a title keeps things simple. Without one, tell us what you do have. Illinois rules govern which papers are acceptable for a scrap sale, and we’ll give you a straight answer on the call.
West Lawn’s neighbors
Cross 59th Street going north and you’re in West Elsdon, often called West Lawn’s twin. East of Central Park Avenue is Chicago Lawn and Marquette Park. To the south, the blocks turn into Ashburn, and Clearing lies west, over the tracks. Every other place we cover is on the service areas page.
Map of West Lawn
West Lawn questions
Can you pick up a car parked on Pulaski Road?
Yes, as long as the truck can legally stop beside it. Pulaski is a busy main street, and from 52nd to 71st it's one of the City's 2-inch snow routes, so parking can be pulled after a heavy snowfall. If the car rolls, a side street such as Keeler or Karlov makes loading easier.
Is the Ford City area part of West Lawn?
It is. The Ford City Mall site at 76th Street and Cicero Avenue falls inside West Lawn, on land that once held an aircraft engine plant. If your car is on a street or in a lot near there, the old mall is a good landmark to give us, along with the closest cross street.
How long can a dead car sit in front of my West Lawn house?
Not long once it looks abandoned. Chicago can treat a car on the street as abandoned if it can't be driven, or if it hasn't budged in more than a week and appears deserted. Two days without state registration counts too. Neighbors report these to 311, and the City tows them.
Do you buy cars with no keys?
Yes. A lost key doesn't stop a pickup, because the driver loads the car without starting it. Mention it on the call, and tell us whether the wheels roll and whether the steering is locked. Those two details matter more to the tow than the key does.