Garfield Ridge
Garfield Ridge is located north of Clearing, between I-55, the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad train tracks, 55th Street, Cicero and Harlem Avenue. It used to be extremely rural, but has become a more urban district with the completion of Midway airport, though it has retained some of its country charm. Many firefighters and policemen live in this community. There is quite a bit of construction in the area as real estate developers are building new homes seemingly everywhere. The median home here goes for between $200,000 and $425,000.Midway is between 55th and 63rd Streets, and Cicero and Central avenues. Bungalows and row houses are the most common type of home; they sell for between $91,000 and $160,000.
Clearing took its name from the railroad “clearing yards,” the place that trains were taken apart or put together. Germans and Dutch originally settled the area between 65th Street to Cicero Avenue and the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad train tracks to Harlem Avenue. Due to its close proximity to Midway airport, Clearing has a respectable number of businesses, dining establishments, and shopping in the community. The members of the community are very active, with a neighborhood watch group called the Clearing Night Force which patrols the neighborhood to keep it safe and clean.
Vittum Park is a small neighborhood bounded by 47th Street to the north, Archer Avenue to the south, Cicero Avenue to the east, and Laramie Avenue to the west. The larger community is diverse, with large white and African American populations.
Garfield Ridge elbows up to Midway airport, which services the region along with the Stevenson Expressway.
