- Title: Sticky situation: Seattle’s 'gum wall' delights and disgusts in equal measure
- Date: 15th October 2019
- Summary: TWO WOMEN TAKING SELFIE (SOUNDBITE) (English), CARMELO GONZALEZ, GUM WALL VISITOR, SAYING: "I think the Gum Wall is absolutely incredible. It's way bigger than I thought it would be, and it's just a really excellent place to be. I mean, I've been wanting to come here for many, many years now, and so to finally be here and see all the gum and see the people enjoying the gum, it's really cool." WOMAN STICKING GUM ON WALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) TABITHA ARCELON, TOURIST FROM SAN DIEGO, SAYING: "You know, the smell is undescriptive actually. Coming down this alley gives you a big whiff of something interesting. You definitely smell the gum but you smell the age of the gum ironically, so, it's interesting." GUM COVERING STREET SIGN CLOSE-UP COIN STUCK IN GUM WALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAYA ARCELON, TOURIST FROM SAN DIEGO, VISITING GUM WALL WITH HER MOTHER, SAYING: "I think it's really colorful but a little bit stinky and gross." VIEW OF TOURISTS IN ALLEY LOOKING AT GUM WALL WOMAN TAKING PHOTOS WOMAN TAKING GUM OUT OF HER MOUTH AND STICKING IT ON GUM WALL WOMAN STICKING GUM ON GUM WALL GROUP OF PEOPLE STICKING GUM ON THE WALL AT THE SAME TIME WOMAN TAKING GUM OUT OF HER MOUTH AND PLACING ON GUM WALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAURA CRUZ, GUM WALL VISITOR, SAYING: "It feels really good, you know, to give something back to somebody." (SOUNDBITE) (English) LUIS CHAVEZ, GUM WALL VISITOR, SAYING: "It's pretty crazy, it's interesting. I like it, it's something unique." (Out of Frame Voice - "It's disgusting.") PEOPLE WALKING IN ALLEY PAST GUM WALL WOMAN FILMING GUM WALL ON HER PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (English) RENAE RAMSEY, GUM WALL VISITOR, SAYING: "I think it's just beautiful because it's so colorful. People have been creative, to try to make it stand out. It's just an amazing thing to see that something people would typically see as gross adds to something beautiful." VARIOUS OF TOURISTS AT GUM WALL PEOPLE WALKING IN MARKET TOWARDS GUM WALL VARIOUS OF SEATTLE'S PIKE PLACE MARKET
- Embargoed: 29th October 2019 15:47
- Keywords: Gum Wall chewing gum tourist attraction selfies Seattle Washington State USA
- Location: SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
- City: SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA003B184SBD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Seattle's Pike Place Market attracts throngs of tourists every day but follow a cobbled street down beneath the market and you'll discover something altogether less wholesome...Seattle's infamous 'Gum Wall'.
More than just a wall, it's a 50-yard stretch of alleyway whose walls are covered in gum left behind by visitors. The tradition started in the early 1990s and, after a couple of futile attempts to get rid of the gum, market administrators declared the Gum Wall a tourist attraction in 1999.
Visitors don't just leave their gum, they use the wall to make art and leave messages for people. It's even used as a spot to declare love.
For one visitor from Colorado, seeing the Gum Wall was the fulfillment of a long-cherished dream.
"I think the Gum Wall is absolutely incredible. It's way bigger than I thought it would be, and it's just a really excellent place to be. I mean, I've been wanting to come here for many, many years now, and so to finally be here and see all the gum and see the people enjoying the gum, it's really cool,†Carmelo Gonzalez said.
Thirty years on from its inception, the Gum Wall continues to delight and disgust in equal measure.
"Coming down this alley gives you a big whiff of something interesting. You definitely smell the gum but you smell the age of the gum ironically, so, it's interesting," said Tabitha Arcelon, visiting from San Diego, California with her daughter, Maya.
"I think it's really colorful but a little bit stinky and gross," added Maya.
In fact, today's Gum Wall is the product of just a few years of gum-sticking. The alley was steam-cleaned four years ago, with workers removing more than a ton (907 kilos) of gum. As soon as it was cleaned, the gum started appearing on the walls again.
And in the age of Instagram and social media, the gum wall keeps attracting more and more visitors, all looking for that perfect selfie moment.
"It's kind of gross," said Kerry Rudnik, standing in front of wall covered in chewed gum with a selfie stick.
"Very gross," added her husband. "But it's very interesting too."
With another five-yearly cleaning expected soon, gum chewers will soon have a new, fresh brick canvas to decorate when they visit Seattle.
(Production: Tim Exton/Omar Younis) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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