The Gum Wall
Sticky brick alley wall plastered with millions of gum wads left by decades of theatergoers.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Gum Wall beside Pike Place Market's Market Theater in Seattle traces its start to bored patrons waiting in line for Theatresports shows in the early 1990s, who began pressing pennies into gum stuck on the brick even as theater staff scraped it clean more than once. It follows how the market's preservation authority eventually gave up fighting the mess, and how a professional crew spent three days in November 2015 aiming industrial steamers at the wall, chosen over pressure washers to protect the century-old mortar. You'll hear one worker's description of decades of gum flavors melting off in waves as the steam did its work. Watch the brick closely as you pass by today.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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