Paris has the Eiffel Tower. New York City has the Statue of Liberty. Richmond has the Gun Hole.
Located in the 00 block of South Addison Street in the Fan, the Gun Hole is an impression in the sidewalk that’s shaped like a revolver. Presumably, someone took an actual gun and pressed it into the sidewalk as the wet concrete was drying.
The city’s newly famous landmark went viral after X user @brockomole tweeted a picture of it with the caption “What if we kissed at the Richmond gun hole” last Friday. The tweet had 1.8 million views as of Sunday morning.
What if we kissed at the Richmond gun hole pic.twitter.com/QtL5RANEf0
— Brock (@brockomole) January 26, 2024
The impression immediately drew comparisons to the Chicago Rat Hole, a hole shaped like a rat in a sidewalk that’s believed to be an accidental lifecasting. The Chicago Rat Hole became a viral phenomenon earlier this month after an image of it was tweeted by Chicago-based comedian and writer Winslow Dumaine on Jan. 6. The New York Times described the hole as “Chicago’s Stonehenge.” “Splatatouille” was the winning submission of a survey held by a neighborhood chamber of commerce to name the Rat Hole.
Friday evening, Richmond activist and journalist Goad Gatsby posted a photo of the Gun Hole surrounded by candles as an impromptu shrine. On Sunday morning, offerings at the site included coins, a condom, a bisexual flag, a packet of Emergen-C and other bric-a-brac. A neighbor of site who declined to give his name or be interviewed said the Gun Hole had been there at least 20 years.
Will Anderson, a 29-year-old visiting from London for work, was unenthused by the Richmond Gun Hole as he walked by on Sunday.
“I mean, it’s a hole in the pavement,” he says.
Another passerby, who asked to be described as Anna, chose to visit the site after seeing it on TikTok. “Long live the Gun Hole,” she said.
The Gun Hole isn’t the only sidewalk art in the Fan and Museum District. On the 500 block of North Sheppard Street is a drawing of a dog that reads “MAGGIE’S BLOCK: RUN AWAY! (WHILE YOU CAN).” Another impression, on the 2700 block of Hanover Avenue, reads “Trey: You will love Your Crooked Neighbor with Your Crooked Heart.”
Though we now live in less violent times, Richmond once had the distinction of being the per capita “murder capital” of the United States in 1997. That year, 140 people were murdered; the highest number overall was 160 in 1994.
Last year saw 63 murders in Richmond, including the shooting death of 48-year-old Michael Jones two blocks from the Gun Hole. On Dec. 5, police were called to the 2300 block of Floyd Avenue where they found Jones unresponsive, suffering from a gunshot wound. Last Monday, Richmond police announced that they had arrested and charged 24-year-old Matthew Hellams with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
