Chicago's newest attraction? A rat-shaped hole

Winslow Dumaine was heading to a store on Chicago's North Side when he saw it: a hole in the sidewalk on Roscoe Street that bore an uncanny resemblance to a rodent.

Mr. Dumaine, an artist and comedian, said the hole represented two themes that often appear in his work: morbidity and whimsy.

“I had to make a pilgrimage to the Chicago Rat Hole,” he said wrote in a social media post this month, including a close-up photo of the concrete cutout.

The post, which has since been viewed five million times, inspired an untold number of Chicagoans to take their own excursions to a quiet residential area of ​​Roscoe Village, a neighborhood known for its cozy taverns, independent boutiques and old-fashioned bakeries.

People have begun making offerings to the mysterious rat-sized crack: candles, coins, flowers, a small grave with a picture of a rat and a bag of cinnamon rolls from Ann Sather, the beloved Chicago restaurant chain.

Online and offline, the “Chicago rat hole” became a shared joke in a city that prides itself on its sense of humor; passersby giggle at the miniature monument and pause to chat with other visitors and take photos of themselves at the hole. And in the city that was recently declared “most rattyIn the United States – which has the worst rat infestation, according to pest control company Orkin – Chicagoans have enjoyed the symbolism for the ninth year in a row.

Even a local politician, state Rep. Ann Williams, got in on the joke.

In posted a video On social media Wednesday, she praised the landmarks of the neighborhood she represented, including its many bars and restaurants, Wrigley Field, “and of course the rat hole of Chicago,” she said, as the camera panned to the sidewalk.

At the rat hole Thursday, a toddler in a pink fleece jacket happily poked at a small toy mouse placed in the center — the latest offering.

As Mr. Dumaine noticed the small claw marks in the concrete, Jenny Morales and her daughter Janelle approached, laughing.

“It's not every day you see a rat hole,” Jenny Morales said. “It's a cold winter day, so I thought we'd just come and see something.”

“Look at the rat hole!” Lora Bothwell, the owner of a nearby daycare center, intervened, carnival barker style. “I walk by here all day every day with kids, and we always talk about 'Is it a rat? Is it a squirrel?'”

Personally, Ms. Bothwell thinks it's a squirrel: “I don't think a rat would jump and splash like that,” she said.

Mr Dumaine agreed that the shape of the print was not actually that rat-like.

“He's got the big hips of a squirrel,” he said, “but 'Chicago Rat Hole' is just a great band name.”

The origin of the hole is unknown, but has been debated online Local media and on the site itself.

However it happened, and whatever species was involved, it is at least 20 years old, said Ms Bothwell, who has lived near the site for 27 years. She said former customers texted her with joy about the hole's appearance on social media and local news.

Since moving to Chicago from his hometown of Omaha in 2017, Mr. Dumaine has often posted photos of signs and other symbols of urban arcana that he finds interesting or funny, but the rat hole post has blown them all away.

The widely viewed post features the art of Mr. Dumaine — including hand-drawn tarot cards and irreverent T-shirts and makeup bags — a huge boost, he said. But while he was quick to claim in a recent TV story that a local Fox News affiliate described him as the “rat hole man,” he said he had turned down offers to develop merchandise and profit directly from it.

“I refuse to take any authority over it. I want it to apply to everyone, I am not colonizing a rat hole.”

The rat hole is a public good as far as Mr Dumaine is concerned, just another example of animals leaving their mark on human civilization, as the cat paw prints found on a 2000 year old Roman roof tileor the inky paw prints found on a 15th century manuscript.

In his artwork and comedy, Mr. Dumaine to play on the spirit of the times and make something funnier or more extreme. But, he said, the rat hole escapes such treatment.

“I cannot gild the lily,” he said. “I can't make this funnier than it is.”