Infamous Chicago 'rat-hole' landmark removed due to 'damages,' reports say

A Chicago sidewalk landmark, infamously known as the “rat hole” has reportedly been removed after city officials deemed it to be damaged and said it needed to be replaced.

Crews with Chicago's Department of Transportation removed the pavement with the rat hole section along with other portions of sidewalk along Roscoe Street Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Inspection teams determined that they needed to be replaced because of damage.

A spokesperson for the department of transportation, Erica Schroeder told AP that the section of the sidewalk containing the sidewalk is now in temporary storage as its fate is decided. Schroeder said that the sidewalk's permanent home will be a “collaborative decision between the city departments and the mayor’s office.”

What is the rat hole in Chicago?

Located in Chicago’s North Side neighborhood of Roscoe Village, the infamous "Rat Hole" is a splat mark on a sidewalk shaped like a rat that fell from the sky. The shape is made up of individual imprints of toes, claws, legs and a tail attached to a body.

The imprint has reportedly been around for a few years now, a Roscoe resident told the Washington Post in January. Cindy Nelson told the newspaper the imprint had been there since she moved to the neighborhood in 1997 with her husband. A neighbor who had been there since the early 1990s told her it was there even then.

Is the imprint from a rat?

Nelson told the Post that she believes the imprint is actually from a squirrel, not a rat. Nelson, who raised her 3 kids with her husband, across the street from the now-famous hole told the post that there was a “huge, old, beautiful” oak tree above the splat mark, which leads her to believe it was caused by an unfortunate squirrel falling from the tree onto fresh cement.

Why was the 'rat hole' removed?

While the "rat hole" was primarily removed because it was damaged, the AP reported that frenzy around it bothered the neighbors who complained that people were visiting the landmark at all hours and even leaving offerings such as coins, flowers, money, cheese, and even shots of alcohol.

After the sidewalk containing the 'rat hole' was removed, new concrete was poured in the area later on Wednesday, Schroeder told AP.

Contributing: Julia Gomez, USA TODAY