Chicago's famous 'rat hole' removed and preserved from neighborhood sidewalk
The rat-sized imprint in Roscoe Village was removed Wednesday morning.
The famous rat-sized dent in a Chicago sidewalk dubbed the "rat hole," was removed and preserved by city officials on Wednesday, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.
The rat hole, a complete outline of a rodent with claws and a tail, was impressed into a slab of sidewalk concrete in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago's North Side.
Crews arrived at the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street around 7:00 a.m. Wednesday morning and replaced several squares of sidewalk, including the portion that contained the imprint, CDOT spokesperson Erica Schroeder told ABC News.
"CDOT is removing and replacing sections of damaged sidewalk on Roscoe Street between Wolcott and Damen in coordination with the Alderman's office," Schroeder said.
Despite being removed and replaced with fresh concrete, the famous rat hole was preserved by officials and is being temporarily stored, "while its future location is determined," Schroeder said.
Neighbors have previously claimed the famous rat hole has been a figure of the Roscoe Village sidewalk for 20 years, but the imprint garnered newfound notoriety earlier this year when a local comedian shared a photo of the dent on X.
"Had to make a pilgrimage to the Chicago Rat Hole," Winslow Dumaine wrote alongside a photo of the rat-sized dent on Jan. 6.
Later that month, a Chicago couple, Raj Sarathy and his partner, Tyler, chose the famous rat hole as their wedding location.
"I know (it) is kind of wild and unique, but nobody in my life -- my friends, family, my wedding coordinator -- was surprised at all. My husband was not surprised, either. I'm always pretty much up for a new adventure," Sarathy told ABC News affiliate ABC 7 Chicago at the time.