(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Someone tried to erase the newly famous city treasure known as the “Chicago Rat Hole,” but the damage reportedly has been mitigated.
On Friday, media outlets reported the unusual sidewalk imprint of a rodent on West Roscoe had been “filled in” with cement or plaster after the spot had become a de facto tourist attraction. Volunteers quickly worked to excavate the figure and bring it back.
“It has since been dug out and restored to its former glory,” local artist and comedian Winslow Dumaine said in an email Friday evening. “However, I am seeing more and more discontent from NIMBYs about whether there should be joy and whimsy on the sidewalk.”
The imprint of the unfortunate critter – possibly a rat or a squirrel that fell into wet concrete – had actually been part of the Roscoe Village sidewalk for several years. But earlier this month, Dumaine posted a photograph of the curiosity on X and dubbed it the “Chicago Rat Hole.”
The post went viral, and the physical location became a sort of urban shrine where visitors left coins and other items.
Dumaine concedes all of this attention and foot traffic may have annoyed “some nogoodnik from the broader area who found a reason to be upset.”
“One person put plaster in the Rat Hole,” Dumaine added. “Hundreds of people put flowers and coins in it. Goodness wins.”
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