The great city of Chicago is known for a lot of things like deep dish pizza, the Bean, and da Bears. Now the windy city can add the “Rat Hole” to that list, with tourists making pilgrimages just to see this modern marvel. The Rat Hole is a mark on a sidewalk in Roscoe Village that is shaped like a rat that fell from the sky. The indentation even shows imprints of toes, legs, and a long tail.
The internet first got wind of this concrete anomaly when artist Winslow Dumaine posted about it on X (formally Twitter) earlier this month. “Had to make a pilgrimage to the Chicago Rat Hole,” the post reads with an image of the indentation. The Rat Hole soon went viral and garnered a naming contest on the Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.
The contest has now ended and no winners have been announced just yet. Though we think Rat Hole, while technically incorrect, is a perfectly direct and understated name for it.
All the buzz has led to people leaving offerings like coins, flowers, money, cheese, and even shots of alcohol. An X user posted an image of the Rat Hole filled with coins, liquid, and a small plastic bag filled with blue pills. Even in these freezing temperatures, people are still coming out to show the imprint the respect it deserves.
But the really surprising part here is how long the mark has potentially been around. Roscoe resident Cindy Nelson told the Washington Post that the imprint has been there since she moved there in 1997. Another neighbor says it has been around since at least the early 1990s. According to Nelson, there used to be a “huge, old, beautiful” oak tree above the splat mark. The tree has since been removed due to illness.
However, that fact led her to believe that Rat Hole was really formed by a squirrel falling Given the size of the mark, this doesn’t seem that far-fetched. Espically given that squirrels are known to fall from the sky far more often than their rat brethren.
No matter what made the mark the citizens of Chicago are certainly feeling a strong connection with the Rat Hole. “That rat fell in that cement, brushed himself off and went to work,” said Dumaine. And aren’t we all just trying to survive no matter how many trees we may fall out of?
For anyone wanting to make their own trip to the Rat Hole, it is located at 1918 W. Roscoe St. 4047, Chicago, IL.
