Current:Home > ContactAn unknown culprit has filled in a Chicago neighborhood landmark known as the ‘rat hole’ -Streamline Finance
An unknown culprit has filled in a Chicago neighborhood landmark known as the ‘rat hole’
View
Date:2025-04-15 14:09:44
You dirty rat!
In a city infamous for its gangster past, 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 — which one day may find itself part of Windy City tongue-in-cheek lore like Al Capone’s vault and a coil of bronze faux feces on a fountain intended to remind people to pick up their dog poop.
A woman who didn’t want to be identified due to possible “ratribution” cleans the iconic Chicago Rat Hole of a plaster type substance in the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street in the Roscoe Village neighborhood, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 in Chicago. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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.
Some of the offerings are left out for Chicago’s iconic Rat Hole in the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street in the Roscoe Village neighborhood, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 in Chicago. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
People living nearby said the imprint had been there for nearly two decades and was made by a squirrel, according to Dumaine.
“I think at the end of the day, the rat hole is a silly thing, but the thing that made it so viral was the fact that thousands and thousands of people were in on a big, sweet, heartfelt joke,” Dumaine told the Tribune.
“Chicago prides itself on all of the things that make Chicago difficult, and no matter how much Chicago hates rats, they love rats,” he added. “It’s a part of our culture.”
veryGood! (99631)
Related
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- The Token Revolution at EIF Business School: Issuing EIF Tokens for Financing, Deep Research and Development, and Refinement of the 'AI Robotics Profit 4.0' Investment System
- Elon Musk demands 25% voting control of Tesla before expanding AI. Here's why investors are spooked.
- Apple to remove pulse oximeter from watches to avoid sales ban
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- List of top Emmy Award winners
- Inside White Lotus Costars Meghann Fahy and Leo Woodall's Date Night at 2023 Emmys
- Uber to shut down Drizly, the alcohol delivery service it bought for $1.1 billion
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- North Korea's first 2024 missile test was conducted with remote U.S. targets in region in mind, analysts say
Ranking
- IOC's decision to separate speed climbing from other disciplines paying off
- Pregnant Suki Waterhouse, Selena Gomez and More Best Dressed Stars at the 2023 Emmys
- Broadway's How to Dance in Ohio shines a light on autistic stories
- Hulk Hogan steps in to help teen girl in Florida multi-car crash over the weekend
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Elon Musk demands 25% voting control of Tesla before expanding AI. Here's why investors are spooked.
- Quinta Brunson's Stylist Defends Her Emmys 2023 Crushed Satin Look
- Hulk Hogan steps in to help teen girl in Florida multi-car crash over the weekend
Recommendation
Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
Joan Collins and Husband Percy Gibson Have Rare Date Night at 2023 Emmys
What is capital gains tax in simple terms? A guide to 2024 rates, long-term vs. short-term
The Excerpt podcast: US strikes at Houthis again
The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
Emmy Awards 2023: The Complete Winners List
An emotional Christina Applegate receives a standing ovation at the Emmys
See all the red carpet looks from the 2024 Emmy Awards
Like
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Joan Collins and Husband Percy Gibson Have Rare Date Night at 2023 Emmys
- The Token Revolution at EIF Business School: Issuing EIF Tokens for Financing, Deep Research and Development, and Refinement of the 'AI Robotics Profit 4.0' Investment System