Some culprit filled in a Northside Chicago neighborhood landmark affectionately called by residents the “rat hole.”
The indentation in the pavement on West Roscoe Street resembles the outline of a rat, claws tail and all. It was reported Friday on social media that the “rat hole” had been filled with a substance resembling white plaster.
Transportation and Streets and Sanitation officials told the Chicago Tribune that the city was not behind the fill-in.
Neighbors gathered Friday afternoon using a brush and water to scrub the shallow hole in the sidewalk clean, restoring it to its “ratfull” place among the city’s iconic — if not strange — attractions.
Tributes, including plastic flowers, a prayer candle, small toys, a pack of cigarettes and coins adorn what may have been the final resting place of “Lil Stucky” or “Chimley,” names given by some in the neighborhood to the creature that once lay there spreadeagled.
“Overall, people just appreciate that our wonderful block is getting attention — even if it’s to look at a rat hole,” Jeff VanDam told the Chicago Sun-Times for a story Friday. “It’s a small, quirky feature of a neighborhood where we get used to it, we care about it, and we want to protect it.”
Chicago resident Winslow Dumaine learned about the “rat hole” from a friend and posted a photo earlier this month of it on X, formerly known as Twitter. The photo drew more than 5 million views, he said.
Most recently, the rat-shaped imprint on the sidewalk on West Roscoe Street has become a wedding venue.
Raj Mahal posted a video to TikTok Saturday of two men being married under an arch of balloons right next to the Rat Hole.
The video was captioned “My perfect Rat Hole wedding.”
The Chicago Rat Hole is an institution and it must be preserved!
