Patrons were shocked when they saw the Gum Wall in Seattle, WA, completely bare of its millions of chewed gum pieces. Though it occasionally gets cleaned, a spokesperson noted that it will always begin again.
The Gum Wall is one of Seattle, Washington’s main attractions for locals and visitors. For 30 years, patrons have been sticking their chewed gum to a brick wall near the Pike Place Market.
Certain areas of the Gum Wall have reportedly measured several inches in thickness, as the local landmark has become a huge tourist attraction.
However, earlier this November, Seattle’s famous Gum Wall was scraped and cleaned with a power washer for the first time since 2019, leaving the 50-foot brick wall bare.
Enforcement of the deep-cleaning was due to acidic erosion caused by the sugar in the chewed pieces of gum. While locals might be privy to the Gum Wall’s occasional cleaning, visitors were shocked to find that all of the gum was removed.
Videos of the new and improved Gum Wall quickly went viral on TikTok, prompting many comments from disappointed people who had previously left their chewed gum there.
“Nooo, my poor gum!” exclaimed one. “Wth, no way,” said another.
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“I was so shocked when we walked through,” added a third.
How did Seattle’s Gum Wall start?
Legend has it that Seattle’s Gum Wall began in the early ‘90s when Unexpected Productions, a local improv theater, hosted a competition improv comedy show.
A patron waiting in line allegedly decided to randomly stick their chewed piece of gum to the brick wall, leading to an ongoing trend.
Since its beginnings, the Gum Wall has had an estimated 15M visitors each year. Madison Bristol, spokesperson for the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority, said that each brick has an estimated 180 pieces of chewed gum stuck to it.
“I like to think of it as an art project,” Bristol said. “It’s always changing, and it’s a fun representation of all the people that come here and contribute to it from all over the world.”
Bristol also stated that cleaning Seattle’s famous Gum Wall is not on a set schedule, but “like anything else, it just needs a good cleaning now and then.”