Welcome to Palos Heights! A Guide For New Residents

Thank you for visiting the City of Palos Heights. If you've just moved to the City, welcome home! This guide is a resource to help you get started.

Mayor’s Letter

Living in Palos Heights provides the opportunity to enjoy a uniqueness that not many towns of our size can enjoy.

Palos Heights is a modern, residential community located in a rural setting. The heavily wooded, rolling terrain provides a quiet, country atmosphere, even though Chicago’s Loop is only a short drive away. This combination of rural and urban living has made Palos Heights an ideal place to live and work.

I encourage you to experience some of the many sites and pleasures that make Palos Heights a great place to live. You can visit Lake Katherine which is an 80-acre nature preserve. The nature preserve has walking trails, a waterfall and lake, a clubhouse, and nature center. The city also has an Olympic size swimming pool located at Community Park, which has baseball fields, basketball courts, picnic areas, and a gazebo area. We would also like to invite you to enjoy the local shopping area in Palos Heights. We have a variety of stores including a coffee shop, gift stores and a variety of restaurants.

Once again, I extend a warm welcome to Palos Heights. We are glad you have chosen our community as a place to live or visit.

From its name to its designation as an official Tree City, Palos Heights personifies peace, serenity and beauty. Tree-lined forest preserves surround the town to provide a quiet barrier from the outside world. This natural landscape continues throughout to offer a picturesque, serene setting from every vantage point.

Throughout its brief 40-plus years, Palos Heights has managed to retain and improve on the character it had when the first homes were being built on unincorporated land in Worth and Palos Townships. Now, Palos Heights is a modern, residential community located in a rural setting.

Harlem Avenue, stretching north to south through the heart of the community, is its commercial center, with a myriad of goods and service stores. Great looking homes spread throughout the neighborhoods, occasionally separated by a well-landscaped park or attractive school or church. Shopping is often within convenient walking distance for many residents.

Behind the tranquil backdrop, Palos Heights offers residents a bounty of services to meet every need. The town's growing park district currently maintains six public parks and an Olympic-size community swimming pool, plus various programs for all ages. Numerous private and public area golf courses make Palos Heights party to the surrounding area's renowned status as a suburban golfing capital.

Handsome parks and a beautiful lake and nature preserve provide residents with excellent opportunities for recreation, and a myriad of city-planned sports and recreation programs give them plenty to do. The 14,000 acres of Cook County Forest Preserves nearby enhance the city’s contacts with nature.

Four award-winning school systems serve the community, together with several private and parochial systems. Higher education is in and around in surrounding communities. A high-quality hospital, also within the city’s boundaries, assures residents speedy, expert medical attention when needed.

The quiet country atmosphere offered by Palos Heights makes the city an inviting place to live and raise a family.

Transportation

Easy Metro Access
Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)
(312) 836-7000

Palos Heights relaxes in a quiet, rural environment, away from the hectic rush that infects much of the Chicago metropolitan region. Still, residents with a need to go places can hop on an interstate highway a brief few minutes from home and be in Chicago’s Loop or at Midway or O’Hare International Airport not long afterward.

I-294 (the Tri-State Tollway) is only three miles from Palos Heights. The highway connects the city with Chicago expressways and the entire interstate highway system. The drive to downtown Chicago takes about 45 minutes. It is less than 20 minutes to Midway Airport and about an hour to O’Hare International Airport.

Those who regularly travel to Chicago can board comfortable Metra commuter trains in Palos Heights, Worth, and Palos Park. Pace bus service provides transportation to points within Palos Heights and to neighboring communities.

Residents of Palos Heights who were there when the city incorporated will say it seems like only yesterday. Compared with the long histories of some neighboring communities, it was only yesterday.

In the city’s brief 40-plus years, Palos Heights has grown to be one of the most desirable places to live in all of Chicagoland, full of quiet, tree-shaded neighborhoods of well-kept homes and lush parklands.

Indian burial grounds and the lingering remains of an old fort in neighboring Palos Park Forest Preserve trace a history of the area that dates back centuries. What is now Palos Heights was open farmland bordering Harlem Avenue until 1935 when Robert Bartlett Building Corporation purchased it for housing. The nation was still struggling through the Great Depression and the long-stagnant housing market needed a shot in the arm.

Bartlett saw what the firm called "Harlem Heights" as an opportunity to move real estate sales out of the doldrums. The company placed a lengthy list of restrictions on each property as it was purchased. The covenants, though now judged unconstitutional, were designed to sustain the value of the new homes built, thus create an incentive to buy. Lots, called "farmettes," were quarter-acre in size and sold for $99. Each lot came with a dozen trees and six grape vines. Of course, buyers had to plant the trees and be watchful when mowing the grass until the trees grew in size. Early buyers also received several incubated chicken eggs, in case they wanted to try chicken farming.

As Bartlett’s development grew, so too did the talk of incorporating as a community. Three times, the matter was put to referendum and three times lost. The fourth try on April 16, 1959 was successful. Harlem Heights became the City of Palos Heights, named for the "Palos" in Palos Township. Its first officials were elected on June 6, 1959 and the first annexation of new land came 19-days later. Palos Heights had begun to grow.

Homes

Lush Comforts

Residential lots in Palos Heights are a quarter-acre in size or larger. Mature trees shade broad lawns that blend into roadways without city-like sidewalks, curbs, and gutters. Thus, the roadways take on the character of quiet country lanes.

The city’s earliest homes line linear streets east and west of Harlem Avenue. This area set the pattern of large quarter-acre lots that has continued as Palos Heights grew. Homes are well-maintained and frequently show evidence of expansion from original designs.

To the south of this area, homes are newer and increase in size. Streets become curvilinear, gracefully bending to enhance attractiveness of streets and the homes lining them. Here, subdivisions bear such appealing names as Navajo Hills, Ishnala, and Palos Pines. At the far southern tip of the city is Oak Hills, a gated subdivision of posh town homes and condominiums built around a private nine-hole golf course.

There is housing that overlooks the Lake Katherine Nature Preserve. Located at the northern edge of the city, off College Drive, elegant town homes are clustered into three separate communities. The Moorings, Lake Katherine Harbor, and Lake Katherine View Estates. Tax increment financing aided development of Lake Katherine, a community center, the homes, and office buildings that line College Drive.

The newest developement in Palos Heights is Westgate Valley, which used to be an 18-hole golf course.  It is located east and west of Ridgeland Avenue between 131st & 135th Streets. Westgate Valley is an up-scale community and has approximately 868 single-family homes, townhouses and condominiums.

Other new developments are:  Misty Meadows, an up-scale development located at 135th Street and 80th Avenue; The Hamptons of Palos, townhomes located on Rt. 83 just east of Ridgeland Avenue; and the Ponds of Palos, up-scale townhomes located at 131st west of 80th Avenue.

There’s a home in Palos Heights to match every budget, making the lush comforts of the community available to all.

Commerce and Business

Diverse Shopping Pleasures

Palos Heights is one of the few communities that have a downtown business district. It is on Harlem Avenue and is called Olde Palos Shopping Center.

Olde Palos Shopping center offers everything from bridal gowns and accessories to fine dining, from hardware to portrait photography, from sundries to major food stores, and from a coffee shop to auto service centers and fast food outlets.

As the community grows, shopping and services expanded beyond the Olde Palos section, extending from College Drive on the north to 127th Street on the south. Harlem Avenue is lines with banks, cozy shops, boutiques, and a variety of restaurants.

Occasionally, major intersections in the community have a convenience market or small strip shopping center, adding to shopping accessibility. Near Harlem on College Drive, Tiffany Square Shopping Center offers ample parking and more than a dozen stores and restaurants, including fast food. Another small shopping center in the community has the quaint name of Southwich Commons.

Palos Heights regards itself as a bedroom community, not a business and industrial center. Still, several low-rise office buildings in the vicinity of the new Lake Katherine Nature Preserve are home to corporate branch offices and various professional and service offices.

Government:

City Administration Center
7607 West College Drive
(708) 361-1800

Service is the purpose of city government (List of City Services). The government of Palos Heights serves its residents in an efficient, professional manner. When the city incorporated, it inaugurated a mayor-aldermanic form of government, believing that elected officials would be most responsive to the needs of the community. The city is divided into four wards with two aldermen representing each ward. Under this form of government, the city and its people have fared well. It has sustained manageable growth, developed a sound infrastructure that includes receiving water from Lake Michigan, and created a comprehensive park system. The city hall is located at the north end of Community Park.

Police Department:
7607 West College Drive
(708) 448-5060 non-emergency
911 emergency

The police department has 29 full-time and three part-time sworn officers, nine community service officers, and five part-time crossing guards. The administrative Division includes the Chief of Police, Deputy Chief, Lieutenant of Administration, Lieutenant of Patrol, and administrative assistants.

The Lieutenant of Patrol manages the Patrol Team, Operational and Patrol Equipment, Training and Emergency and Unusual Occurrences. The Lieutenant of Administration manages the Detective Division, Evidence and Property Control, D.A.R.E., the officers assigned to U.S. Customs, D.E.A., the Shepherd High School liaison officer, IMS, and Public Relations.

The department conducts several community service programs, including D.A.R.E., bike safety, office friendly, and a ride-along program. It provides speakers for community groups and has a roster of volunteer teen cadets who do safety checks of homes and businesses and conduct police station tours.

Fire Protection:
12300 South Harlem Avenue
(708) 448-4272

Palos Heights receives fire protection from two separate fire protection districts: Palos Heights Fire Protection District and Palos Fire Protection District. Each district has several skilled paramedics and EMT’s who operate from life-support equipped ambulances.

The city straddles the boundary between Palos and Worth townships. Both entities provide extensive services through general assistance and senior citizen programs.

Public Works:
7607 West College Drive
(708) 361-1806

On a daily basis, more residents of Palos Heights make use of the Public Works Department than any other service of the city.

The Public Works Department manages and maintains Palos Heights streets, drainage, drinking water, sanitary sewers, municipal buildings, parks, easements, and all public property within city limits.

The catalog of responsibilities is numerous: from snow plowing on winter day, spring-time debris clean-up, summer grass cutting and branch chipping, to street sweeping in the fall. The crew is also called upon at a moment’s notice to repair broken water mains, clean blocked sewers, alleviate flooding during heavy rains, and to set up for, and clean up after, Palos Heights special events, such as the Fourth of July Celebration.

Palos Heights residents can join in a variety of different arts and cultural events. Moraine Valley Community College serves the Palos Heights area as a cultural focal point. The Fine and Performing Arts Center houses instructional classrooms and labs, rehearsal rooms, two theaters, and an art gallery. It is also the home of the Prairie Dog Theater, a non-equity community theater company. The Fine and Performing Arts Center brings many well-known artists and speakers to the campus.

You can also enjoy the Southwest Symphony Orchestra at the Dorothy Menker Theater. First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre is located in nearby Tinley Park, to hear the top stars of popular music. The theater is the world’s largest outdoor music theater, seating 27,000 music fans.

For local art lovers, the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park holds special appeal. Located on the campus of Governors State University, its collection of 22 outdoor sculptures is widely regarded as among the finest in the world. It also has the Regional Center for Technology and the Performing Arts. Its 1,200-seat auditorium brings nationally and internationally famed arts to its stage.

The Palos Heights Public Library, located a few doors off Harlem Avenue proves its popularity with an annual circulation of more than 145,000 items. On average, nearly 3,000 people visit the library each week.

The library is located at 12501 South 71st Avenue and is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Your local library card can be used at other suburban libraries through the Library’s membership in the Suburban Library System. For more information please call (708) 448-1473.

Dining in Palos Heights can be a genuine joy. Many family-style restaurants offer tasty dishes at reasonable prices. There is a wide variety of different style restaurants offering a variety of different menus.

The people of Palos Heights enjoy excellent recreation facilities with more than 139 acres of parkland, including 91-acre Lake Katherine Nature Preserve and 34-acre Community Park.

Most of its six parks have ball fields, multi-purpose fields, picnic sites, and playgrounds. Community Park features an Olympic-size pool, fitness course, walking and jogging paths, tennis courts, sand volleyball, and a soccer field. The Palos Heights continuation of the Tinley Creek Bicycle Trail skirts the edge of Community Park. At present, the trail is more than 13-miles in length. When complete, it will stretch for 33 miles, linking Palos Heights with Matteson and Flossmoor.

Community Park’s 50-meter, Olympic-size swimming pool has a six-lane area for competitive swimming, a 14-foot deep diving area with one and three-meter diving boards, a separate wading pool for youngsters, and locker rooms for men and women. There’s also a concession stand, a covered picnic area, and raised deck areas for sunbathing.

A comprehensive year-round program of sports, activities, and events for all ages is directed by the Palos Heights Recreation Department. It includes everything from day camps for kids to activities for senior citizens.

The Recreation Department utilizes city parks and their facilities, plus the facilities of community schools. Among the many aspects of the 12-month program are aerobics, yoga, interior decorating, men’s basketball, women’s open volleyball, dance lessons, floor hockey league, baseball camp, and numerous trips and special events. The community also has privately-operated health and fitness clubs, one with racquetball facilities.

Lake Katherine Nature Preserve:
Nature Center
7402 Lake Katherine Drive
(708) 361-1873

E.G. Simpson Clubhouse
7400 Lake Katherine Drive
(708) 361-1807                                                 

Ninety-one acre Lake Katherine Nature Preserve and its Nature Center are the focal point of a series of activities designed for youngsters from preschool through sixth grade. Activities are divided by grade and include such things as frog hunts, a spring nature search, wild flower hike, and a Lake Katherine safari. The E.G. Simpson Clubhouse at Lake Katherine is available to residents and local groups for meetings, parties, and special occasions. The clubhouse overlooks an attractively landscaped, manmade waterfall.

Other features of Lake Katherine include the Children’s Forest containing a wide variety of trees planted by children and their parents, a one-mile walking and jogging trail around the 20-acre lake, observation decks, and an arboretum. The Environmental Learning Center was built in 1994 and is run with the help of the help of the "Friends of Lake Katherine" volunteer organization. There is a full-time naturalist on duty.

Health Care:

Palos Community Hospital
12251 80th Avenue
(708) 361-4500

Among the many advantages of living in Palos Heights, there is quick access to high quality medical care when needed. Palos Community Hospital is a 436-bed facility with more than 350 physicians on staff, representing 40 medical specialties and subspecialties.

The hospital services include cardiac and intensive care, surgery and same day surgery, psychiatric/chemical dependency, maternity care, orthopedics, oncology, and emergency medicine.

There are also several clinics and immediate care centers to serve the people of Palos Heights. In addition, dozens of physicians and dentists have offices in the community. The city is also home to three excellent nursing homes providing short and long term skilled nursing care.

Education:

Palos Heights is served by four school districts noted for high quality programming and instruction. The four are Palos Community Consolidated School District 118, Palos Heights School District 128, Community High School District 218, and Consolidated High School District 230.

District 128 operates two elementary schools and a junior high school. The district’s Palos East elementary school is situated within the city’s boundaries. District 118 also operates two elementary schools and a middle school.

Both districts emphasize the educations basics of reading, writing, and mathematics, augmenting these with athletics, art, and music. They provide special education programs for the gifted students based on language arts.

District 218's Alan B. Shepard High School serves Palos Heights and several neighboring communities. Students can choose from more than 200 different courses, including advanced placement courses, and such studies as Japanese, German, computer programming, computer-aided design, robotics, graphic design, and desktop publishing. In addition, students can participate in a full roster of sports.

A wide range of extracurricular activities are available, including instrumental and vocal performing groups, drama groups, academic competitions, student government, various clubs and special interest groups, and student publications.

High School District 230's Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, located in Palos Hills, serves students living on the west side of Harlem Avenue. It, too, offers more than 200 courses designed to meet the academic need of college-bound students and the training needs of career-oriented students.

Several private and parochial schools in Palos Heights offer alternatives to public school education. Among the schools are St. Alexander Catholic School, Palos Evangelical Lutheran elementary school, and Chicago Christian High School. The latter offers the full range of college preparatory, business and technology courses.

The aim of excellence is achieved in the schools of Palos Heights.

Higher Education:

Trinity Christian College purchased Navajo Hills golf Course and remodeled the clubhouse and began a two-year liberal arts instruction program. The college grew steadily and by 1968 was offering baccalaureate degrees. Today, the 60-acre campus has grown considerably.

Trinity Christian College awards Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees. In addition the college offers professional studies and a wide variety of internships with area businesses and organizations available to the students.

Palos Heights students can readily commute to Moraine Valley Community College, in nearby Palos Hills. Moraine Valley serves the local residents through classes, seminars, lectures, concerts and other activities.

Moraine Valley awards associate in arts and associate in science degrees in business, liberal arts, and science to students who transfer to nearby Governors State University or to a four-year institution to complete their degree work. It also awards associate degrees in applied science and certificates in other different career fields. Governors State University is a regional university located in University Park and branch facilities in Homewood and Orland Park. The university complements community colleges by providing only the final two years toward a bachelor’s degree. It also offers master’s degree programs.

Moraine Valley Community College’s Center for Contemporary Technology houses business and industrial training programs and works with area business and industry to tailor education and training to match local needs. Its Procurement Assistance Center provides technical assistance to companies interested in selling good and services to federal and state government. In doing so, it helps create new jobs and retain existing ones.

Students living in Palos Heights can also commute to such well-known educational institutions as Illinois Institute of Technology, Northern Illinois University, the University of Illinois - Chicago, DePaul University, and Loyola University.

Worship:

The pioneers who settled the Palos Heights area in the mid-1800's carried with them strong beliefs that were reflected in the way they conducted their lives and the manner in which helped their neighbors.

That same strong faith is found in Palos Heights today and in its 11 churches representing most major denominations. Other denominations are established in surrounding communities. Palos Heights congregations gather for worship and the fellowship that faith offers.