Cleaning the gum wall at Seattle’s Pike Place Market
Seattle tourists and locals have been sticking their used chewing gum on the walls of a section of Post Alley for the past 20 years, and although the walls will be cleaned down to bare brick, officials expect the gum-sticking tradition will quickly return.
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- Fernando Soberania uses a tool to scrape layers of gum from Seattle’s famous “gum wall” at Pike Place Market, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Workers carry trash bags filled with chewing gum that is being removed from the walls in Post Alley at Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington on November 11, 2015. (JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Javier Ramirez uses a high-temperature pressure washer to clean layers of gum from Seattle’s famous “gum wall” at Pike Place Market, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Pieces of gum that were cleaned off of Seattle’s famous “gum wall” at Pike Place Market are shown in a bucket, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Fernando Soberania uses a tool to scrape layers of gum from Seattle’s famous “gum wall” at Pike Place Market, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- A fortune from a fortune cookie is stuck to layers of gum on a wall at Seattle’s famous gum wall at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Louise Kaiwi, who was visiting Seattle from Hawaii, pretends to lick a wall full of gum as she poses for a photo taken by a friend at Seattle’s famous gum wall at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Visitors walk through the alley housing Seattle’s famous gum wall at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Layers of gum are shown covering a wall at Seattle’s famous gum wall at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Fernando Soberania, left, and Javier Ramirez, right, work to clean layers of gum from Seattle’s famous “gum wall” at Pike Place Market, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Workers use a high-temperature pressure washer to clean layers of gum from Seattle’s famous “gum wall” at Pike Place Market, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- A worker sweeps up piles of old gum being cleaned off the walls around him by powerful steam cleaners at a “gum wall,” several walls actually, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
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- The likeness of an American flag made from pieces of gum sticks to a wall at Seattle’s “gum wall” at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- A penny is stuck to layers of gum on a wall at Seattle’s “gum wall” at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- A note that reads “Goodbye gum wall, we will miss you,” sticks to a wall partially obscured by gum, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, at Seattle’s “gum wall” at Pike Place Market. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Visitors check out Seattle’s “gum wall” at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Known as the “gum wall,” the sticky landmark has become a popular attraction to visitors and locals. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Evoking lips by Man Ray, many pieces of gum went into this attachment to Post Alley’s Gum Wall, to be cleaned in a week, in Seattle on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (Alan Berner/Seattle Times/TNS)
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- Workers steam-clean gum off Seattle’s famed Gum Wall on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015 in Seattle. (Maria L. La Ganga/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
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- A worker chisels off top layers of the 20-years worth of chewing gum that has accumulated in Post Alley at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington on November 11, 2015. (JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A worker sweeps up some of the 20-years worth of chewing gum that is being removed in Post Alley at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington on November 11, 2015. (JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A worker uses a pressure steamer to remove 20-years worth of chewing gum that is being removed in Post Alley at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington on November 11, 2015. (JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Twenty years worth of chewing gum is pictured before its removal in Post Alley at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington on November 11, 2015. (JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Visitors chew gum and pose for photos near the gum wall in Post Alley at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington on November 11, 2015. (JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Visitors chew gum and pose for photos near the gum wall in Post Alley at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington on November 11, 2015. (JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Twenty years worth of chewing gum is pictured before its removal from Post Alley at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington on November 11, 2015. (JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Twenty years worth of chewing gum is pictured before its removal from Post Alley at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington on November 11, 2015. (JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A worker is pictured holding a pressure washer as 20-years worth of chewing gum is removed from Post Alley at Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington on November 11, 2015. (JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A United States flag made from pieces of gum is shown on a wall at Seattle’s famous gum wall at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- A pedestrian carries an umbrella while walking past Seattle’s famous gum wall at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Jessica Wang, left, and Michael Teylan, both of Los Angeles, take a photo at Seattle’s famous gum wall at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Fernando Soberania works to clean layers of gum from Seattle’s famous “gum wall” at Pike Place Market, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Jessica Wang, left, and Michael Teylan, both of Los Angeles, create a “bubble gum kiss” while visiting Seattle’s famous gum wall at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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- Richard and Wendy Thorsnes, of Tacoma, Wash., photograph Seattle’s famous gum wall at Pike Place Market, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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