The story behind the viral Richmond gun hole

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RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - You may have heard of the viral “rat hole” that’s become a massive sensation in Chicago.

Now, Richmonders have discovered something just as bizarre on a sidewalk in The Fan.

The iconic “Richmond gun hole” began gaining tons of attention on social media over the weekend.

“You’re not a Richmond-ite unless you’ve seen the gun hole,” Richmond resident Scott Boastfield said.

It’s simply an indentation on the sidewalk, shaped like a gun.

“It’s just something about being in Richmond,” Passerby Casey Yenyo said. “Only Richmonders would get it.”

Fans of the gun hole attempted to gatekeep the hidden location, but it was eventually leaked on Reddit. It is on the sidewalk of Addison Street between Cary Street and Main Street.

“People who have discounted Richmond as a two-bit town are coming back to see the gun hole, and they love it,” Gun hole enthusiast Goad Gatsby said.

It’s a quirky fixation now drawn hundreds to the small side street tucked away in The Fan.

“When you’re just walking along these nice Richmond streets, heading up for a bite at Sticky Rice, and you look down, and you see a gun hole ... doesn’t get much more Richmond than that,” Boastfield said.

The viral sensation started with a tweet by a neighbor named Brock.

The post eventually garnered 2 million views. The joke on social media snowballed into a full-blown obsession.

“I saw a few posts about the gun hole, and I said, ‘I’ve got to go see it for myself,’ and there it is in all its glory,” Reporter Rich Griset said.

Griset published a story in Style Weekly about the gun hole, which brought even more fans out of the woodwork.

“It’s better than I could’ve ever imagined,” Casey Yenyo said as she gazed upon the gun hole for the first time.

The bizarre landmark has attracted visitors who decide to hang out and bond with other Richmond residents.

“People would sit out here with us,” Sage Gardner said. ”At one point, there were probably 35 people at the gun hole, and it was 1 o’clock in the morning.”

Several folks began leaving candles and other offerings to form a shrine. At one point, there was spare change, a vial of testosterone, Wellbutrin, cigarette butts, a bracelet, a condom and other items.

“I believe that’s a fried egg...a lighter...looks like an airplane shooter...lipgloss...and a doll head,” Boastfield said.

It’s an inside joke that only Richmonders seem to be in on.

“They don’t have to get it, but once they see this right here, they’ll start to get a little clue that Richmond...we’re a little bit weird,” Gatsby said.

Part of the fascination lies in the mystery of the gun hole, but fans may have cracked the case.

“I heard from the person who actually put the gun in the ground on Reddit, and it was actually a water gun back in 1991,” Gardner said. “I think that’s pretty crazy. It’s not actually a revolver or anything.”

Passersby say it’s time for the rival Chicago rat hole to step aside and let Richmond’s gun hole shine.

“I’ve heard a lot of talk about the Chicago rat hole and I don’t think the Richmond gun hole gets the credit it deserves, it takes no back seat to a rat hole,” Boastfield said.

Gun hole aficionados are aware the growing attention on the gun hole may lead the city to pave it over, but they say they’re not too worried.

“It would probably be the first time they’ve ever timely filled a hole in the city of Richmond,” Gatsby said.

However, not everyone is a fan of this goofy trend. A neighbor walked by and told 12 On Your Side the landmark has become inconvenient for folks living on Addison Street.