Entry No. 21 — the Seattle file — filed under: roadside-oddity

The Gum Wall

A brick passage in the lower level of Pike Place Market is coated floor-to-overhead in layers of chewed gum, roughly 54 feet long and 8 feet high, with an estimated 180 pieces of gum per brick. It started in the early 1990s with theater patrons sticking gum on the wall while waiting in line, and the market gave up trying to stop it. The wall was steam-cleaned down to bare brick in 2015 and again in late 2024, and it fills right back in within months.

The move: Buy a pack of gum, find a blank spot, and each press a piece into the wall as a slightly disgusting joint contribution.

• 📍 Pike Place Market, Seattle
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: 1428 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101

Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-24