Man builds igloo in middle of downtown Chicago

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - Social media was all buzzing Wednesday about a mysterious igloo that appeared on Upper Wacker drive overnight. There was rumors that a homeless man built the large ice shelter circulated online.

Several pictures of the igloo flooded Twitter and Facebook. So, who's responsible for building this ice box apartment? Not only did FOX 32 find him, but he let us inside his frozen fortress.

"And this, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it…I might make it a doorway,” said David Sudler.

Eudler is part engineer, part artist. He works in wood, stone and ice.

"I have slept in a lot of ice caves,” Sudler said.

But he doesn't have to sleep in this one. Sudler is not homeless. In fact, he lives in a high-rise with his wife on Upper Wacker across the street from his igloo.

One of his hobbies is clearing the sidewalk in front of his building.

"I shovel the thing so the hundreds of people who walk here don't slip. I like doing it, it keeps me in shape,” Sudler said.

And that's how the cool cube creation was born. 

"It's a place to put the ice blocks. I use to stack them up before, just stack them on the curb. So I thought, well, I might as well do it,” Sudler said.

The 58-year-old showed FOX 32 how he cuts the blocks, and it's back breaking work. The steal bar is first to break up the ice.

Then, he uses a shovel to cut the fine edges.

15 minutes later ... “And that's how it's done!" he said.

A little salt and snow for mortar, a nifty built in skylight, and the ice cave is move-in ready. And although Sudler doesn't need a place to crash, he's not opposed to spending an evening in his big city igloo.

"I'll probably sleep in it one night. I'm sure I will,” Sudler said.

Sudler said he worked mostly at night because of less traffic. The igloo is still standing, but for how long remains a mystery.

FOX 32 reached out to the city to see if they would allow it to remain standing, and we have yet to get a response.