(cheerful music) - [Geoffrey] Here in Chicago, (tool thudding) city workers do the dirty work of dealing with rats so you don't have to.

You ever have a rat come running out?

- Yeah, I've had 'em run out.

- Really?

- Oh yeah.

And it scares you every time.

- So why is it that here at the headquarters of the Department of Streets and Sanitation in City Hall, there's a monument to that menace.

Meet the Chicago rat hole.

Though currently under glass at City Hall, this impressive imprint has its origins about five miles north on Roscoe Street.

In fact, Roscoe Village residents had been passing the roadside rodent for years.

But in 2024, a local comedian took notice and snapped a picture for social media.

And with that, the rat hole clawed its way into the spotlight.

- People loved it.

You know, it was something interesting, weird to go and see.

- [Geoffrey] That's Gloria Pittman.

She's Chicago's Deputy Commissioner of Rodent Control.

And though she helps to prevent rats, even she couldn't deny the holes viral appeal.

- People from all 77 neighborhoods came to see this rat.

I just thought it was a phenomenon, you know?

But then it's like, voila, it's a Chicago icon.

- People really, you know, took this to another level.

What did you see around the rat hole when you went there?

- Flowers.

Candles.

They put cheese candles.

You know, they came by, took pictures on it.

Someone I understand was married at the concrete.

- Is it really a squirrel?

- It's a rat.

There were myths, it's a squirrel, it was a small cat.

It's a rat.

- [Geoffrey] The rat hole even earned a shout out on the "Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" during Fallon's musical recap of the month's biggest headlines.

♪ Bad numbers in every poll, people care more about ♪ ♪ The Chicago rat hole ♪ (audience laughs) - [Geoffrey] But the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

And as the hole grew more popular, its crowds started congesting neighborhood streets.

- It actually became a nuisance to the residents of the block.

It needed to be removed for safety reasons.

- [Geoffrey] Only three months after its star-making discovery, the rat hole was removed.

But this chip off the old block wasn't just jack hammered.

- Our experts in the Department of Transportation removed it and they in turn gifted it to the Department of Streets and Sanitation, which is responsible for taking care of the rat population in Chicago.

Well, I don't wanna say taking care of it, but controlling.

- Taking care of it.

- (chuckles) Right.

So instead of removing and destroying it due to, you know, suggestions from the residents, it was preserved.

And so now we have it for all of America to see.

(Geoffrey chuckles) - [Geoffrey] Gloria doesn't know exactly why the rat hole became famous, but it's undeniably Chicago to take something other cities might walk right over and turn it into a joke.

What does that say about the city or your department?

- That the Department of Streets and Sanitation has a sense of humor.

(Geoffrey chuckles) But it also gives us the opportunity to talk to all ages, actually, about how we can best prevent rodents in the neighborhoods.

One of Chicago's strengths is that when we have adversity, we always turn it around into an opportunity.

- Yeah, he seems to have come from above somehow.

And though the rat hole is preserved for generations to come, some of its mysteries will never be solved.

How did it happen?

Did it fall from a tree and get steamrolled or something?

How did it end up embedded in the sidewalk?

- You know, I don't know.

I really don't know the answer to that, but it made a lasting impression.

I can tell you that.

(cheerful music)