Rat Hole In A Cage? Smashing Pumpkins Display Famed Concrete Slab At United Center Show

NEAR WEST SIDE — The Smashing Pumpkins made a stop at the United Center on Wednesday for their Rats in a Cage tour — and in a quite on-the-nose move, the band brought out the fabled Chicago Rat Hole. Fans eager to see the Pumpkins noticed that the Rat Hole, which garnered widespread attention in Chicago and online in 2024, was temporarily on display at the Near West Side arena. Smashing Pumpkins fan Eleni Prillaman with her daughter Josie at the United Center show Wednesday night. Credit: Eleni Prillaman The Chicago landmark could be viewed in the venue s Center Atrium, where fans were invited to take pictures with it from 6:30-8:30 p.m., according to a post from the United Center. This appears to be the first time the Chicago Rat Hole has left its home at City Hall, where it has been encased and preserved since January 2025 under the ownership of the Streets and Sanitation Department. The concrete square was removed from a sidewalk near 1918 W. Roscoe St. in April 2