About a week after going viral, the Chicago “rat hole” brought Chicagoans together once again, this time to restore it.
Reports that the longtime neighborhood fixture and now-viral landmark on the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street had been filled, perhaps with a plaster-like substance, circulated on social media Friday morning, as well as stories of those working to bring the creature’s imprint back to its original glory.
Residents of the building next to the rat hole — who asked not to be identified for fear of “ratribution” from those who filled the hole — worked Friday afternoon to scrub away at what was left after some dedicated fans had scraped most of what filled the hole out.
Since the viral post that started the rat hole obsession, the residents of the building have become the unofficial “keepers” of “Lil Stucky” — the neighborhood name for the creature who once laid in the cement — sifting through any potentially dangers tributes left and clearing the sidewalk of ice and snow.
The guardians of the hole were not sure who was behind the filling in. They said they had shoveled at about 9 a.m. Friday and didn’t notice it had been filled in under a layer of ice, and another neighbor — whose Ring doorbell camera wasn’t recording overnight — said they had seen people taking pictures with it around 1 a.m.
Coins left in the hole were strewn about the sidewalk, though the shrine left to the side of the sidewalk seemed untouched. There seemed to be a clue left behind by the culprits: a gray lid that may have been from the vessel holding the substance used to fill in the hole.
“Everyone has seemed really good natured but you always worry something bad could happen,” they said.
A woman who didn’t want to be identified due to possible “ratribution” cleans out the beloved “rat hole” on Friday.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Jeff VanDam, an 11-year resident of the neighborhood, strolled a few houses down with a flathead screwdriver and hammer Friday afternoon to join in restoration efforts.
He said his 6- and 10-year-old daughters love the rat hole — though they know it’s a squirrel — and he “had to” set out to ensure it stayed.
While most people have enjoyed it, he said he had heard some “annoyance” expressed by neighbors on the block, but that was mostly when someone installed a giant cross.
“I’ve heard mixed things,” VanDam said. “Overall people just appreciate that our wonderful block is getting attention even if it’s to look at a rat hole.”
The former New Yorker said the rat hole was a better representation of Chicago than other, more well-known landmarks like the Bean.
“I think Chicago isn’t the Bean but is things like the rat hole,” VanDam said. “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. That’s what happened today.”
Some of the offerings left out for Chicago’s “rat hole” included was Hot Topic Cash, a recreation of an official dedication plaque, flowers and toys.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Three friends who came to leave a tribute to Lil Stucky — a bottle of Jeppson’s Malört — agreed.
Mo Flanagan, Olivia Grover and Perry Sadler met up to visit the landmark now that Chicago’s temperatures have become more tolerable after the deep freeze from earlier in the week.
Flanagan, who lives in Avondale, said it’s things like the rat hole that set Chicago apart from other big cities like New York, and likened it to the Cubs’ superstition around goats.
“Chicago’s a big city but it has a lot of small town gossip like this,” Flanagan said.
Friends Olivia Grover, left, Mo Flanagan, center, and Perry Sadler take swigs of Malört next to the so-called rat hole. Earlier the hole was filled in with a plaster type substance but was cleaned out by neighbors.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Sadler of Wrigleyville said he had theorized someone would interfere with it, and the trio discussed who it could be. Sadler put his bets on an angry neighbor.
Regardless of the culprit, the three agreed seeing people come together only “added to the lore” of the rat hole and showed unity among the city’s residents.
“I think it really speaks to the community aspect of this city,” said Grover, who lives in Ravenswood. “The Midwest is a caring place.”
“Chicago takes care of its own,” Flanagan said.