Seattle famous Gum Wall at Pike Place is getting scrubbed down for the first time in 20 years.
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Jessica Wang, left, and Michael Teylan, both of Los Angeles, take…
The gum wall, in an alleyway underneath the more visible market famous for its fish, fresh produce, and crafts, was started by audience members waiting in line for the nearby Market Theater, said Kent Whipple, a theater spokesman.
Powerful steam cleaners have been drafted in to melt it all off after market officials decided it was a good time to wipe it clean.
It now boasts an estimated 1 million pieces in a kaleidoscope of colours, a few stretched and pinched into messages, hearts and other designs. Theatergoers would place coins covered in gum on the wall, and when the theater management gave up attempting to clean off the mess, the wall became known as a public treasure. Since then, the colorful “gum wall” has expanded to other brick walls in the alley, pipes and even the theater’s box office window.
They estimate the gum’s total weight could be nearly a tonne.
A few may be sad to see the living art go, but if authorities are right, the wall won’t be gum-free for long.
Pike Place Market spokeswoman Emily Crawford says based on her rough calculations, that equals about 2,200 pounds of gum.
‘I just hope that the citizens of Seattle don’t hate me for removing the gum wall, ‘ said Kelly Foster, the general manager for the firm hired to clean the edifice.
According to local reports, the thorough steam-clean should take up the remainder of the week.
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Crews will weigh the gum as they remove it.
