"Can't have anything nice": Richmond's beloved gun hole has been filled
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The gun hole as-of 1pm Wednesday. Photo: Sabrina Moreno/Axios
Richmond's famous gun hole is no more.
What's happening: The city filled the beloved and viral gun-shaped sidewalk hole after a resident complained, the Times-Dispatch reports.
- "Vague 'gun' shaped impression in the sidewalk is attracting nuisance visitors and littering. Please repair," read a complaint logged on Richmond's 311 website just before 3pm Sunday.
It's unclear when the hole filling happened, and the city did not respond to a request for comment, but it appears it was there as late as 1:30am Wednesday, according to X posts.
- By 8:20am Wednesday it was gone.
- As was the shrine, which had grown to include playing cards, a thong, an unwrapped maxi-pad, an eyelash curler, single-serve bottles of Fireball and (briefly) one human baby.
Of note: Before a Friday evening tweet catapulted the hole to its viral status, it had sat, neglected and uncelebrated, for around 20 years, per Style Weekly.
Why it matters: For one brief, glorious Friday through Tuesday, the gun hole united Richmonders in our shared love of viral, odd-shaped holes and community gatherings around them.
After it was filled, some locals turned to social media to share their uncompleted, and possibly more pressing, sidewalk and street hole-filling needs, including a curb-side sinkhole in Church Hill, wide enough to fit a traffic cone and a 3-foot-wide pothole in Oregon Hill.
- In fact, an Axios review of RVA 311 found there are nearly 400 open requests for street, alley and sidewalk issues submitted in January.
Other Richmonders shared their despair, reflecting a city in mourning.
- "[We] Can't have ANYTHING nice in this city," X user Gonzi posted.
- "A hole in my heart in the shape of a gun," said Goad Gatsby.
- "I'm still processing … Thanks for reaching out. It's a tough time for us all," shared RVA Coffee Stain, who had just completed an original gun hole print.
- "I was so stunned I went back solo to confirm… Of all things for the city to act fast on it was filling something that brought so many people joy and a laugh," said X user Jessee who made the pilgrimage to the gun hole from her Northside home Wednesday morning with her infant son.
Yes, but: There's hope for hole enthusiasts.
- By Wednesday afternoon, it appeared someone had dug out most of the concrete before it set — revealing a faint revolver-like imprint once again.