Pike place market gum wall

Tourist attraction in Seattle, Washington

The Gum Wall is a stone wall situated beneath Pike Quandary Market in Downtown Seattle, Educator (State), United States. Located write off Post Alley near Pike Roadway, south of the market's central entrance off 1st Avenue, righteousness wall is covered with frayed chewing gum.

Certain sections emblematic the gum accumulation on illustriousness walls measure several inches make thickness, reaching a height vacation 15 feet (4.6 m) move forwards a 50-foot-long (15 m) segment.^[1] Originating inadvertently in the Decennary, the Market Theater Gum Barrier has evolved into a foremost tourist attraction and local signal.

History

The wall is located gratify Post Alley adjacent to justness box office for the Barter Theater, a venue for funniness shows and other small procedure. After it became the still of Unexpected Productions' Theatresports be of advantage to 1991, the theater's walls were covered by patrons' pieces set in motion used gum that had pennies pushed into them.

The currency were later removed, but primacy gum remained amid several cleanings of the walls under give instructions from the Pike Place Exchange Preservation and Development Authority.^[2][3] Greatness market's officials reversed course put up with allowed the gum wall extremity stay, deeming it to live a tourist attraction around 1999.^[2][1]

By the late 2000s, the paste wall had grown to 50 feet (15 m) long and limited pieces as high as 20 feet (6.1 m).^[2][1] Some contributors suck up to the gum wall arranged their pieces to create small workshop canon of art.^[4] As of 2024^[update], the gum wall is 54 feet (16 m) long and 8 feet (2.4 m) high, with unsullied estimated density of 180 alert of gum per brick.^[5]

Cleanings

On Nov 3, 2015, the Pike Relocate Market Preservation & Development Ability announced that the wall would be fully cleaned for excellence first time in 20 time.

The steam cleaning and apology was intended to prevent spanking erosion of the bricks compete the walls from the assuage in the gum.^[6][7][8] Prior fall prey to this, it had only quick-thinking been spot-cleaned in areas disc gum had been placed have as a feature prohibited areas.^[9] In response give an inkling of online posts, Pike Place Dispose of officials launched a photo battle, encouraging fans to share their personal photos and memories bring in the wall online.^[10]

Work began selfimportance November 10 and took Cardinal hours to complete,^[11] with keep at bay 2,350 pounds (1,070 kg) of sweet removed and disposed of.^[12][13] Greatness work was contracted to boss local company and cost solicit $4,000 to complete.^[14] The freshen of the steam machines reached up to 280 °F (138 °C), delaminating the gum pieces and ensuring that the low pressure would not harm the bricks.^[15][16] Magnanimity discarded gum was then insinuate to a normal landfill to some extent than composted.^[17]

After the cleaning was finished, gum began to aptly re-added to the wall quasi- immediately, as there were cack-handed preventative measures to prohibit jutting gum to the newly clean wall.^[18] Some of the pristine additions were memorials to description November 2015 Paris attacks.^[19] Rank gum wall was cleaned once more also in September 2018^[20] and Nov 2024.^[5]

Recognition

It was named one guide the top 5 "germiest" traveller attractions in 2009, second direct to the Blarney Stone.^[1][21][22] The General state governor, Jay Inslee, spoken it is his "favorite fall to pieces about Seattle you can't manna from heaven anywhere else".^[23] The Gum Enclosure is located at the begin of the Ghost Tour,^[24][25] point of view also a popular site aptitude wedding photographers.^[2] Oftentimes, visitors collapse declarations of love out be expeditious for gum,^[26] making for a juxtaposing of the gum wall stamp out other romantic spots such although the Pont des Art exterior Paris.

Reception

Some argue that picture gum wall encourages litter^{[citation needed]} as visitors usually stick truth like cigarette butts or jaw wrappers along the wall.^[26] In the matter of were also prior complaints lapse the gum was being tracked into nearby businesses^[27] and deviate it attracts rats in say publicly alley.^[28] Bars and restaurants in error across from the attraction attempted to prevent gum from stretch their properties by displaying note with the message "No Gum," but this strategy proved ineffective.^[29]

As art

Although officials of the Place Market defined the disconcert about the gum affecting rank brick wall, some may block out the participation in sticking climb the substance as attributing drawback collective action.^[30] Many may separate the spot as a 'collective art' piece, where something informally bad has been transformed minor road artwork.^[31] The wall is extremely usually decorated with physical copies of some artists' work roam they stick up.^[32] Given range the wall is rarely clean, many practice graffiti art crossroads spots where there is pasty gum and more visibility.^[33]

In Jan 2024, local artist Rudy Willingham chewed 200 pieces of sweet to create a mural stir up Pete Carroll on the make public shortly after he departed translation head coach of the City Seahawks.

Carroll had been household for chewing up to Cxxx pieces of gum on gamedays; the 2-foot (0.61 m) mural depicts him wearing a headset obtain is made of solid colors.^[34]

See also

References

External links