Seattle gum wall gets its scrubbing

A piece of Seattle history is coming down – or rather, 1 million little pieces.

On Tuesday, powerful steam cleaners were melting it all off.

Pike Place Market in Seattle is known for its fresh seafood, the birthplace of Starbucks Coffee and a very odd tourist attraction: a wall of chewing gum, which this week had its first wash in over twenty years.

Of course, the gum wall did not happen overnight – the area became its own tourist attraction after two decades of passersby sticking gums onto the walls.

“It’s an icon. It’s history”, said onlooker Zoe Freeman, who works near Pike Place. “It’s a Seattle tradition and a crowd-sourced piece of public art that people really enjoy”, said Emily Crawford, a spokeswoman for the Pike Place Market Preservation Development Authority.

In a cheeky press release, the market let the brick wall speak for itself.

Obviously, city officials likely realize that tourists and locals will just start sticking their gum right back on the wall as soon as the cleaning team rolls out.

On Tuesday, a fruity, sweet smell wafted through the alley as workers in protective suits blasted the dried gum with moist air.

Mila Mimica Tweeted: “Bye Seattle gum wall, you will forever disgust me”. Since then, it has expanded beyond one wall and on to other walls of an alley, pipes and even the theatre’s box office window.

The more than 25 years and upwards of 2,000 pounds of gum will take three days to remove with an industrial steam machine, Kelly Foster of Cascadian Building Maintenance told The Times.