Gum Wall - The Stickiest Spot in Town

Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Seattle Pike Place and Downtown, a free self-guided tour.

Brace yourself. This brick wall in Post Alley, right beside the Market Theater box office, is coated in layer upon layer of chewed gum in every color you can imagine.

Nobody planned it. In the early 1990s, people waiting in line for improv shows at the theater started sticking their gum to the wall, and some pressed coins into it too. Workers scraped it off more than once, but it kept coming back, and around 1999 market officials gave up and let it stay as a tourist attraction. Today the gum stretches roughly 50 feet along the alley and well over your head.

It's gross, colorful and oddly cheerful, and it's one of the most photographed spots in the city. Families can expect plenty of groans and giggles here. If you want to add your own piece, bring gum with you and press it on gently, and keep it off the windows, doors and anything people need to touch. A hand wipe afterwards is a very good idea.

Getting here: Walk two blocks north on First Avenue to Pike Street and head toward the market. Where Pike Street meets Pike Place, take the steps and ramp down to your left into Post Alley.

Did you know?: In November 2015 crews spent about 130 hours steam-cleaning the wall and removed more than 2,350 pounds of gum. Visitors started sticking new gum on almost immediately.

Photo op: Stand back against the opposite side of the alley and shoot down its length so the gum fills the whole frame.

More on Wikipedia: Gum Wall · Pike Place Market

Gum Wall - The Stickiest Spot in Town

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