R.I.P. To Chicago's Infamous Rat Hole

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ABC Chicago - The "Chicago rat hole," a rodent-shaped dent in a Roscoe Village sidewalk that went viral in January, was removed Wednesday morning by a city crew.

The nouveau tourist attraction was preserved but its future home is yet to be determined, the Chicago Department of Transportation said.

Crews arrived about 7 a.m. Wednesday and removed the slab of sidewalk containing the rat hole in the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street. Fresh concrete was poured before midday.

Grace Pynnonen, 28, who lives on the block, said she will miss the rat hole. It felt like she was "living next to a celebrity," she said.

"I was like, 'No way,'" said Pynnonen's boyfriend, Isaac Cutrara, 27. "I thought, for sure, with the amount of people it has attracted, the people would be like 'No, we're not taking it down.'"

Cutrara saw the city trucks and crew from his home office.

Cutrara hopes the rat hole is preserved somewhere accessible to the public, like a museum.

"So people don't forget what happened - the year 2024, the rat hole," Cutrara said. "It's been a fun era in Roscoe Village and sad to see it come to a close."

But the rat hole's sudden popularity also caused difficulties for neighbors. When the rathole first exploded, visitors would be there in the morning until late into the night, Pynnonen recalled.

Pynnonen said tourists left behind inappropriate items "for a family-friendly neighborhood," like condoms, pills and alcohol, next to the rat hole.

So we have this thing called "The Rat Hole" in Chicago. Or rather, we had this thing. And no, contrary to what you might think, that's not a euphemism for City Hall. No, that's what we call "The Rat Nest". 

But sadly, it's no more. The Rat Hole, not the Rat Nest. Stay with me here. It's confusing I know, but we'd be thrilled if the rat nest were gone. 

But for me, a non-resident of Roscoe Village, this is kind of sad.

Like many others around here, I heard about this thing a few years ago when buzz about it started spreading on local Chicago social media. It has been around forever but then some comedian tweeted a pic out and it went crazy.

Fast forward to the last few months and you have legit tourists who come to our beautiful city to visit the Sky Tower at Sears Tower, take the river boat architecture tour, and catch a Cubs game, adding "visit the famous rat hole" to their list. 

Then you've got the hipsters who made it a thing and started leaving flowers, blunts, and condoms by this thing as their makeshift "vigil" for the rat. 

All in all it's sad to say goodbye to rat hole. It's just another mark of "old Chicago" that's long gone now. 

Godspeed Rat Hole.