The Gum Wall – Seattle, Washington

You can actually drive through the alley where the Gum Wall is located if you have a smaller vehicle.  I just walked to the Gum Wall from my hotel, but there is plenty of parking near the market.

The Gum Wall, officially called the Market Theater Gum Wall, is a pretty big tourist attraction in downtown Seattle.  I was there for about 10 minutes and I probably saw 60 people come and go taking pictures.  It’s conveniently located next to Pike Place Market, so some people visit the market and come to the gum wall.  It’s kind of neat to see since I’ve heard and seen so much about it on Instagram and my friend’s Facebook posts.

The wall is located in a narrow ally next to some some shops and restaurants.  I saw some patrons come out of a bar, chew some gum, and stick it to the wall before leaving.  I, of course, added my own gum to the wall of germ and disease.  Some people hang political statements or personal notes to the wall too.

Imagine thousands and thousands of chewed gum stuck to a brick wall.  Imagine the faint smell of saliva and a slightly sweet smell from the gum.  This is what this entire alley smells like.  If you have a very sensitive nose, you might be gagging.  Some people think it’s gross and others didn’t.  I saw what I assume were mostly tourists and visitors here. I doubt many locals visit this place more than once.  In fact, while I was visiting during a work trip I asked my local coworkers what they thought of it and they both said that the gum wall is “nasty” and they avoid it.

Apparently, the Gum Wall got it’s start back in 1993 when some people were sticking gum along with coins to the wall.  Later on, the wall was featured in the move Love Happens with Jennifer Aniston, so the wall does have some street cred.  The wall was first cleaned after it had 20 years of gum build up!  According to the newspaper Seattle Times, when the wall was cleaned, it took more than 130 hours and the gum weighed 2,350 pounds!