Chicago rat hole is out. Richmond gun hole is in.
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.

Screenshot: @brockomole/X
Step aside, Chicago. Your rat hole has nothing on our gun hole.
What's happening: An imprint of what looks like a revolver on the sidewalk went viral this weekend after resident Brock Cass tweeted, "What if we kissed at the Richmond gun hole?"
- The post on X, formerly Twitter, had 53,000 likes and nearly 2 million views as of Monday.
Why it matters: This is the most Richmond thing to happen since Rudolph was impaled by a traffic light during the 2010 Christmas Parade.
State of play: After the post on Friday, residents flocked to build a shrine around the Chicago rat hole's distant cousin — located on Addison St. across from Barrio.
- By Saturday, the shrine became a slew of coins, Listerine strips and a Magnum condom.
- Then it grew to include the bisexual flag, an empty bottle of testosterone, a D.C. metro card (?), a Taco Bell hot sauce packet, a 5-cent coin from Belize and acid reflux pills.
- On Monday, the gun hole was filled with NYX lip gloss, a chopped-off Barbie doll head and a joint.
Between the lines: No one has gotten married or proposed to at the site like they did in Chicago, but there's still time.
What they're saying: Someone on X asked if the gun belonged to Rick Grimes, a character on "The Walking Dead" who uses a Colt Python.
- Our Axios Chicago colleague Carrie Shepherd said, "That's like a Civil War-style gun! Why is it so long?!"
The bottom line: We don't know, but a neighbor told Style Weekly that the gun hole has been there for at least 20 years.
- If you're the person who made the imprint, or know who did, please reach out. We want to know everything.
