Seattle reigns supreme

Visit Washington for the food and scenery — then leave your gum on the wall

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One of the most popular tourist attractions in Seattle would drive any high school janitor or germaphobe crazy.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/11/2021 (1419 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Seattle would drive any high school janitor or germaphobe crazy.

The Market Theater Gum Wall is quite literally a brick wall covered in thousands of colourful pieces of used chewing gum in an alleyway under the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle.

Like other unique landmarks around the world — the Pont des Arts in Paris, a bridge covered in locks, comes to mind — the gum wall has an odd, yet interesting, story.

In the early 1990s, the theatre’s staff got tired of picking and scraping off all the gum that patrons would stick under their seats so they started making announcements asking them to stop.

Theatre-goers are nothing if not an obedient bunch so they obliged. Sort of. While waiting in the alleyway to get in, a few people stuck their gum on the wall. Then a few more joined in. And then a few more.

“Others walked by and saw it and thought, ‘hey, I’ll add to that,’” says Angela Shen, founder of Savor Seattle Food Tours, a group that takes guests around to sample the best culinary delights that Seattle has to offer. (Gum, incidentally, in not included in these delights.)

Like the lovers who wanted to add their lock to the Pont des Arts and throw the key into the Seine river, it wasn’t long before Seattlites and visitors were attracted to the gum wall.

When you consider that 10 million people visit the Pike Place Market every year — it’s the most popular tourist destination in the state of Washington — that’s a lot of flavoured and sweetened synthetic plastics, rubbers and waxes. (What did you think gum was made of?)

Postmedia PROVINCE
The original Starbucks location is in Seattle (Files)
Postmedia PROVINCE The original Starbucks location is in Seattle (Files)

Naturally, Shen starts the Savor Seattle tours at the gum wall. For awhile, the Pike Place Market tried to limit the proliferation of gum but they eventually realized that, um, the bubble had burst.

“The market has come to accept it. It was definitely something they fought for a long time to control. The gum is everywhere, up and down both sides of the alley,” Shen says.

“You feel you have to put your gum on the wall. Every so often, the market pressure washes and hoses off every speck of gum. It stays clean for about three hours before it comes back. That’s just the cycle.”

Having such a consumer magnet is obviously a boon for local businesses, so one retailer at the end of the alley installed a gumball machine.

“That was genius,” Shen says.

CP
Fishmonger Jaison Scott tosses a fresh salmon at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. The market is a classic tourist attraction in Seattle. (Elaine Thompson / The Associated Press files)
CP Fishmonger Jaison Scott tosses a fresh salmon at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. The market is a classic tourist attraction in Seattle. (Elaine Thompson / The Associated Press files)

The Pike Place Market has been providing a place for area vendors and farmers to connect with local consumers for more than 110 years. There are literally hundreds of kiosks set up every weekend selling everything from fresh seafood, vintage vinyl, art, gifts for pets, used books, groceries, hair cuts, hats, jewelry, shoes, leather goods, bags, pottery, yarn, ice cream, chocolate, candy and freshly-grown flowers. Lots and lots of flowers of every colour imaginable.

“You get a true sense of Washington state at the moment, what’s growing and what’s happening right now at the Pike Place Market,” says Ui Robinson, public relations director for the Visit Seattle, the city’s destination marketing arm.

Arguably the longest line at the market snakes down the sidewalk to get into the original Starbucks location. If it’s the coffee you crave, not the local giant’s retail history, there are two other Starbucks locations just a stone’s throw away. This is Seattle, remember.

Of course, at some point you’re going to need to take a load off and the local restaurateurs are only too happy to serve you a flight of local beers and an order of nachos.

Just don’t be rude and stick your gum under their tables. You’re not an animal. Stick it on the wall, where it belongs.

Geoff Kirbyson and Tara Senne (Supplied)
Geoff Kirbyson and Tara Senne (Supplied)

geoffkirbyson@mymts.net

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