Seattle to remove wads of gum from famous Gum Wall
Seattle, WA — Kiss the Gum Wall goodbye.
The world-famous wads of gum adorning an alley in Seattle’s Pike Place Market are coming down this month. The market will begin steam-cleaning the wall on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
The Gum Wall, located in Post Alley, has become a landmark in and of itself since people started depositing their gum there 20 years ago.
According to Pike Place Market, audience members of the late-night Theatresports improv show started sticking their gum on the wall while they waited in line.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
What started as just one wall now spans several, with an estimated 150 wads of gum per brick for a total of more than a million wads.
The gum has been cleaned off three times in the years since, with faithful visitors restoring the display to its sticky, messy glory.
The market says cleaning the wall periodically is important to maintain the integrity of the bricks lining the historic alley.
Because of the wall’s popularity, the market is hosting a photo contest before it takes the gum down. Fans can take a photo of the wall and upload it to the contest website for a chance to have their name or a message engraved on a steel market charm.