A Chicago sidewalk landmark that some residents affectionately referred to as the “rat hole” has been removed after city officials determined it was damaged and needed to be replaced.
The sidewalk, which resembles the outline of a rat with claws and a tail, has existed in Roscoe Village, a North Side neighborhood in Chicago, for years, but in January a Chicago comedian shared a photo of it on TV. gained new fame. Social Platform X.
But the attention has sparked complaints from neighbors, who say people visit around the clock, sometimes leaving coins and other items scattered around the area.
Erica Schroeder, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Transportation, said the sidewalk plaza “home to the famous ‘Chicago Rat Hole'” is currently in temporary storage.
Schroeder said the rat hole section and other sections of the sidewalk along Roscoe Street were removed by Department of Transportation officials Wednesday morning after the department inspected them and determined they needed to be replaced due to damage. Ta.
She said where the sidewalk slabs with rat tracks ultimately end up will be a “joint decision between city departments and the mayor’s office.”
Councilman Scott Wagspack said he had been receiving complaints for months about both the unevenness of that section of the sidewalk and the crowds of people gathering there to observe and take photos of the rat holes. , Wagspack Chief of Staff Paul Sajovec announced on Wednesday.
“It was just a combination of the uneven sidewalks and the fact that people were showing up at different times of the day and night and making a lot of noise and causing other issues and issues,” he said.
Someone filled the mouse hole with a white plaster-like substance in January, but the traces were quickly dug up by fans, the Chicago Tribune reported at the time.
Chicago resident Winslow Dumaine told the newspaper that people who live nearby say the tracks have been there for nearly 20 years.
Neighbor Georgina Ulrich captured video of workers using concrete saws, forklifts and eventually trucks to remove and drive away the slabs.
“This is all because of the rat tracks,” Ulrich said in one of the clips.
New concrete was poured late Wednesday, Schroeder said.
