Workers are steam blasting the famed tourist attraction at Pike Place Market, wiping it clean of its approximately 1 million pieces of gum – a few of which are 20 years old.
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Instagram was flooded with postings from tourists and residents alike, recalling their time at the gum wall.
And the sickly sweet scent began attracting vermin around the wall’s larger home, the Pike Place Market.
The gum will be weighed by the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority before it’s thrown out, according to the Seattle Times. Tourists and locals have been sticking their used chewing gum on the walls of a section of P…
And one person said: “Oh my god is the gum wall clean yet so we can just start calling it the wall and be done with this nightmare”.
The gum wall began organically in 1991 when nearby theatre patrons began sticking gum onto the alley’s walls, KUOW News reports. “We’ll find out at the end of the week how right my guesstimate really is”, she said.
The steam cleaning, expected to take three days, has drawn an outpouring of emotions in Seattle and across social media, and comes as Seattle undergoes gentrification.
The wall has always been covered by wads of gum in many colours, a few stretched to make elaborate messages and designs.
Pictures, business cards and other mementos were also attached to an estimated 1,000kg of gum stuck to the wall.
All of it was cleaned off in a matter of hours, presenting a fresh start for a gross yet oddly attractive tradition.
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Market officials hope to contain where people put their gum in the future but say they aren’t holding their breath.
