Gum Wall Explained

Gum Wall
Image Place:Gum wall, Seattle, Washington, Estados Unidos, 2017-09-02, DD 19-21 HDR.jpg
Image Caption:General view in 2017
Surface:Chewing gum
Location:Post Alley, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Pushpin Map:Washington
Coordinates:47.6083°N -122.3403°W

The Gum Wall is a brick wall situated beneath Pike Place Market in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. Located on Post Alley near Pike Street, south of the market's main entrance off 1st Avenue, the wall is covered with used chewing gum. Certain sections of the gum accumulation on the walls measure several inches in thickness, reaching a height of 15 feet (4.6 m) along a 50-foot-long (15 m) segment.[1] Originating inadvertently in the 1990s, the Market Theater Gum Wall has evolved into a notable tourist attraction and local landmark.

History

The wall is located in Post Alley adjacent to the box office for the Market Theater, a venue for comedy shows and other small performances. After it became the host of Unexpected Productions' Theatresports in 1991, the theater's walls were covered by patrons' pieces of used gum that had pennies pushed into them. The coins were later removed, but the gum remained amid several cleanings of the walls under orders from the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority.[2] [3] The market's officials reversed course and allowed the gum wall to stay, deeming it to be a tourist attraction around 1999.

By the late 2000s, the gum wall had grown to 50feet long and included pieces as high as 20feet.[2] [1] Some contributors to the gum wall arranged their pieces to create small works of art.[4]

Since 1999, it has become one of the most recognizable tourist destinations in the Pike Place Market area and receives thousands of visitors annually. Visitors regularly add new gum to the wall.

Cleaning

On November 3, 2015, the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority announced that the wall would be fully cleaned for the first time in 20 years. The steam cleaning and maintenance was intended to prevent further erosion of the bricks on the walls from the sugar in the gum.[5] [6] [7] Prior to this, it had only ever been spot-cleaned in areas where gum had been placed in prohibited areas.[8] The announcement caused significant commotion among Seattle residents and admirers of the tourist attraction. In response, Pike Place Market officials launched a photo contest, encouraging fans to share their personal photos and memories of the wall online.[9]

Work began on November 10 and took 130 hours to complete,[10] with over 2350lbs of gum removed and disposed of.[11] [12] The work, done by local company Cascadian Building Maintenance, was figured to cost about $4,000 for completion.[13] The temperature of the steam machines reached up to 280F, essentially delaminating the gum pieces and ensuring that the low pressure would not harm the bricks.[14] The gum was then disposed of in the garbage.[15]

After the cleaning was finished, gum began to be re-added to the wall almost immediately, as there were no preventative measures to prohibit sticking gum to the newly cleaned wall.[16] Some of the new additions were memorials to the November 2015 Paris attacks.[17]

Recognition

It was named one of the top 5 "germiest" tourist attractions in 2009, second to the Blarney Stone.[1] [18] [19] The Washington state governor, Jay Inslee, said it is his "favorite thing about Seattle you can't find anywhere else".[20] The Gum Wall is located at the start of the Ghost Tour,[21] [22] and also a popular site with wedding photographers. Oftentimes, visitors create declarations of love out of gum,[23] making for a comparison of the gum wall to other romantic spots such as the Pont des Art in Paris.

Reception

Some argue that the gum wall encourages litter as visitors usually stick items like cigarette butts or gum wrappers along the wall. There were also prior complaints that the gum was being tracked into nearby businesses[24] and that it attracts rats in the alley.[25] Bars and restaurants situated across from the attraction attempted to prevent gum from reaching their properties by displaying signs with the message "No Gum," but this strategy proved ineffective.[26]

As art

Although officials of the Pike Place Market defined the concern about the gum affecting the brick wall, some may see the participation in sticking up the substance as attributing to collective action.[27] Many may classify the spot as a 'collective art' piece, where something colloquially bad has been transformed into artwork.[28] The wall is also usually decorated with physical copies of some artists' work that they stick up.[29] Given that the wall is rarely cleaned, many practice graffiti art on spots where there is less gum and more visibility.[30]

In January 2024, local artist Rudy Willingham chewed 200 pieces of gum to create a mural of Pete Carroll on the wall shortly after he departed as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Carroll had been known for chewing up to 130 pieces of gum on gamedays; the 2feet mural depicts him wearing a headset and is made of solid colors.[31]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Chen . Stephanie . July 20, 2009 . Kissing, chewing -- the 'germiest ' tourist attractions . CNN . August 14, 2009.
  2. News: Eskenazi . Stuart . June 6, 2008 . Market lost & found . . live . August 14, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160325111816/http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/market-lost-found/ . March 25, 2016.
  3. Web site: The Gum Wall . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220122231300/https://unexpectedproductions.org/gumwall/ . January 22, 2022 . January 22, 2022 . Unexpected Productions.
  4. News: Gumming it: Messages designed to stick on Seattle's Gum Wall. Carter. Chelsea J.. June 30, 2006. Associated Press. The Spokesman-Review. June 8, 2012.
  5. Crawford . Emily . November 3, 2015 . Pike Place Market's Famous Gum Wall Receives Complete Cleaning . Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority . November 18, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151112073705/http://pikeplacemarket.org/sites/default/files/Gum%20Wall%20Announcement_11_3_15.pdf . November 12, 2015.
  6. News: O'Brien . Kirsten . November 3, 2015 . Cleaning up Seattle's gum wall . Seattle Post-Intelligencer . live . November 3, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151104045057/http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Cleaning-up-Seattle-s-gum-wall-6607651.php . November 4, 2015.
  7. News: November 3, 2015 . Seattle's Gum Wall getting a scrub down . . November 18, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151119122928/http://www.king5.com/story/news/2015/11/03/gumwallscrubdown/75080416/ . November 19, 2015 .
  8. Web site: Spinelli . Megan . November 4, 2015 . Seattle's Gum Wall Is Getting Scrubbed, Making Room for a 'Clean Canvas' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220206045806/https://abcnews.go.com/US/seattles-gum-wall-scrubbed-making-room-clean-canvas/story?id=34973176 . February 6, 2022 . February 6, 2022 . ABC News . en.
  9. Web site: Brait . Ellen . November 11, 2015 . Seattle gum wall: steam-cleaners at work to clear 'germiest place on Earth' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220923083406/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/11/seattle-gum-wall-steam-cleaners-pike-place-market . September 23, 2022 . February 9, 2022 . the Guardian . en.
  10. News: DeMay . Daniel . November 16, 2015 . Gum wall not clean for long . Seattle Post-Intelligencer . November 18, 2015.
  11. News: Bush . Evan . November 10, 2015 . Gum wall gets naked in early-morning steam cleaning . The Seattle Times . live . November 18, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151213202223/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/gum-wall-gets-naked-in-early-morning-steam-cleaning/ . December 13, 2015.
  12. News: Bush . Evan . November 16, 2015 . Seattle gum-wall time-lapse: Watch ton of gum disappear in a minute . The Seattle Times . live . November 18, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151213213737/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/how-much-gum-dotted-pike-place-markets-post-alley/ . December 13, 2015.
  13. Web site: Hunter . Marnie . November 4, 2015 . Pike Place Market's gum wall getting a deep cleaning . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220209051045/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/seattle-pike-place-gum-wall-cleaning-feat/index.html . February 9, 2022 . February 9, 2022 . CNN . en.
  14. Parkland College. Barnes. Scott. Floess. Peter. Webb. Brittany. Moss. Matthew. Trueblood. Zach. Benson. Sierra. Kenter. Jacob. Vilmin. Adam. November 11, 2015. Prospectus, November 11, 2015. Prospectus 2015. 9 . 12 .
  15. Web site: Spencer . Aaron . November 4, 2015 . Seattle gum wall: Where will all the discarded gum go? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220209051540/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-gum-wall-where-will-all-the-discarded-gum-go/ . February 9, 2022 . February 9, 2022 . The Seattle Times . en-US.
  16. Web site: Taylor . Alan . Scrape It Off, Scrape It Off—Seattle Removes 20 Years Worth of Gum From Historic Wall - The Atlantic . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220206055926/https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/11/scrape-it-off-scrape-it-off/415353/ . February 6, 2022 . February 6, 2022 . The Atlantic . en.
  17. News: Frohne . Lauren . November 15, 2015 . "Re-gumming" the gum wall — for Paris . The Seattle Times . live . November 18, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151118040046/https://www.seattletimes.com/photo-video/video/re-gumming-the-gum-wall-with-support-for-paris/ . November 18, 2015.
  18. News: Ewww! Seattle gum wall a top germy attraction. June 13, 2009. Komo News. July 21, 2016.
  19. News: Griswold . Jamie . June 11, 2009 . Seattle Gum Wall ranks in top 5 "Germiest Attractions" . MyNorthWest.com . August 14, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090617064058/http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=177556 . June 17, 2009.
  20. Nelson . Sean . 23 May 2018 . Notable local: Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington . . 21 . 21 . 10.
  21. News: Post Alley - Gum Wall. The News Tribune. August 14, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20110717015538/http://calendar.thenewstribune.com/seattle-wa/venues/show/1132357-post-alley-gum-wall. July 17, 2011.
  22. Web site: Chin . Brian . September 28, 2008 . The Pike Place Market Ghost Tours . https://web.archive.org/web/20120829185703/http://blog.seattlepi.com/spi/2008/09/28/audio-slideshow-the-pike-place-market-ghost-tours/ . August 29, 2012 . August 14, 2009 . SPI blog . Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  23. Web site: Colosia . Emma . April 26, 2021 . The Sticky Story Behind Seattle's Famous Gum Wall . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220128001710/https://secretseattle.co/story-gum-wall-seattle/ . January 28, 2022 . February 4, 2022 . Secret Seattle . en-US.
  24. News: McNichols . Joshua . November 11, 2015 . Seattle Says Goodbye To A Disgusting Tourist Attraction: The Gum Wall . en . NPR . live . January 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220121202613/https://www.npr.org/2015/11/11/455657410/seattle-says-goodbye-to-a-disgusting-tourist-attraction-the-gum-wall . January 21, 2022.
  25. Web site: November 10, 2015 . Bubble Rubble: Crews Clean Up Famed Seattle 'Gum Wall' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220121203417/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bubble-rubble-crews-clean-famed-seattle-gum-wall-n461086 . January 21, 2022 . January 22, 2022 . NBC News . en.
  26. News: Sailor. Craig. April 15, 2018. Popular gum wall poses sticky situation in Seattle; Social media has turned this sticky alley into one of Seattle's top tourist destinations. Richmond Times Dispatch.
  27. Joung . Joo Yeoun . 2020 . Rest Stop: a design exploration inspired by micro moment of food . en . 10.14288/1.0388507 . M.Arch . Konkuk University.
  28. Leob. J.. March 1, 2018. Walls - Engineering in society: Good, Bad or Ugly? - Ten significant wall. Engineering & Technology. en. 13. 2. 30–33. 10.1049/et.2018.0220. 1750-9637.
  29. Web site: Khan . Tanveer . September 5, 2020 . Market Theater Gum Wall: The Sticky Story of a Wall Decorated in Chewing Gum . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220206052534/https://www.ststworld.com/gum-wall/ . February 6, 2022 . February 6, 2022 . STSTW Media . en-GB.
  30. Web site: Steve . August 29, 2010 . Stuck On You: Seattle's Gum Wall Is Pretty, Gross . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220212053111/https://weburbanist.com/2010/08/29/stuck-on-you-seattles-gum-wall-is-pretty-gross/ . February 12, 2022 . February 11, 2022 . Web Urbanist . en-US.
  31. News: Blatchford . Taylor . January 29, 2024 . Sticky Pete Carroll mural honors the gum-chomping former Seahawks coach . The Seattle Times . January 29, 2024.

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