Chicago rat hole memorialized with music fest
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It has now been almost six months since the infamous Chicago rat hole first captured the hearts of the internet, and two since the square of the sidewalk that contained it was removed.
The Chicago "rat hole" was a rodent-shaped indentation in the concrete in front of a blond brick three-flat building at 1918 W. Roscoe St., between Wolcott and Damen avenues in Roscoe Village. It might have been the imprint of a rat, or it might have been a squirrel.
While now gone, its legacy lives on.
The Rathole Music Fest was held at Bourbon on Division, at 2050 W. Division St.—2.75 miles south of where the rat hole had been located.
"The city may have filled the rathole in the sidewalk, but let us fill the rathole in your hearts!" organizers said.
Organizers said they found the "rattiest Chicago local music." The lineup included producer and guitarist Osis, electronic rock band Baron Von Future, funk fusion band Mcyota, jam band Alabaster, "bipolar grunge pop" band Lever, rock band The King of Mars, noise pop band Sequin Sun, pop-punk band Malört & Savior—who use the rat hole in their band logo—punk/rock/alternative band From the Start, and pop-punk/punk rock band Left to Write.
The event also featured poetry and even burlesque.
The logo for the festival combined a silhouette image of the rat hole with a parody of the yellow Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation rat abatement posters that are mounted the city's alleys to report the most recent visits by city rodent control workers.
The rat hole had been there for several years—some estimate around 20—but gained fame on social media just this year when artist Winslow Dumaine showed the sidewalk imprint in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in January.
People began flocking to the rat hole, and after a while, neighbors got sick and tired of it—with some complaining to the city.
In April, the city replaced the stretch of sidewalk on Roscoe Street where the rat hole had been located.