Seattle has many iconic places: The Space Needle, ‘Sleepless In Seattle’ Houseboats…Starbucks.
But one icon is going to be no more come November 10th. The gum wall at Post Alley outside the Pike Place Market, (another historic landmark of the city); will have its gum melted down and completely cleaned off.
The gum wall is an awesome place to visit. It is an Instagram favourite for obvious reasons; with more than 1 million pieces of chewed up gum sitting on it; showcasing every colour of the rainbow, and stretched out into artworks that hang off ledges and corners in the most disgusting of ways. The smell as you enter is strong, with tourists chewing gum on every corner and placing it on the wall in triumph. The stench is not horrible though…I mean it’s only gum. But it’s definitely an interesting smell nonetheless.
This wall has been around for decades; starting in around 1991, when people would stick their chewed up gum on the wall whilst waiting in line for the theater. Eventually the gum on the wall took off, and right now spans more than just one wall, but a whole corridor and then some. It is such an interesting place to look at. Disgusting, but attractive street art nonetheless.
But despite the icon status this place holds, the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority, have decided that the removal of the gum is the only way to ensure the historic brickwork in this area remains protected. So they will be spending a few days from the 10th cleaning up all of the walls in this alley; and the gum wall will sadly, no longer exist.
To many it is an eyesore. But to travelers who love to look at street art or find weird things in the cities they visit…especially such an eclectic city like Seattle; it will be sad to see it go.
And decades of history erased in the process.
So see it now before you miss out!
If the wall does make a comeback after the big clean? It will take decades to get it back to the grandeur it once was…and who has the patience to wait 20 years for that?
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