A Sticky Situation: Seattle’s Gum Wall

My favorite teacher in elementary school had a sign we were all to abide by: “I will not masticate processed tree sap during the time I should be endeavoring in my intellectual pursuits.” Translation: Don’t chew gum in class. I took that lesson to heart and then some, and to this day, I rarely chew gum. A lot of folks near Seattle’s Market Theatre, however, don’t feel the same way.

Seattle's Gum Wall began in the 1990s and has grown in size (and germiness) since.

It all started in the 1990s when those waiting in line to get in the theater began sticking their gum to the wall. The city tried in vain to get rid of it a couple of times, but it’s now a bona fide tourist destination that made it to No. 2 on the list of TripAdvisor’s germiest world attractions.

I accidentally whipped my ponytail into the Gum Wall, which was not my best move.

I trekked there with my mom one evening (it’s in Post Alley, right below Pike Place Market), and although it was a bit smaller than I imagined it would be, there were still thousands upon thousands of pieces of colorful processed tree sap lining the bricks. Some people got creative, spelling messages and making designs. I even saw a pretty decent gum rendition of the Eiffel Tower. Yelpers are big fans, with more than 80 percent giving the Gum Wall four or five stars. I was a little skeeved out by the wall, yet it was still oddly intriguing. As for my mom’s assessment: “It’s gross, but a must-see for grossness, I guess.” What more can you say than that?

My mom enjoys her time in front of the Gum Wall.