The Market Theatre gum wall was named one of the top five germiest tourist locations globally by TripAdvisor yet tourists flock to the location daily!

The back story was: patrons queueing for tickets at the Market Theatre used to get annoyed waiting and started sticking coins into the gum wads onto the wall in the 1990s. Which got me thinking, why would you stick a coin into the gum when you can just stick the gum on? There were attempts to scrape off the gum but tradition stuck (Pun haha) on tight. The gum wall was officially named a tourist location in 1999.

Gum wall sticking has also become an art.

And maybe a method for leaving notes?

I saw many tourists posing with the hanging threads of the gum… I seriously wonder has any of the gum dropped into a mouth before? Surely that must have happened.

Also, boys roughhousing and bullying, does anyone get pushed to the wall? I shudder at that thought. Yucks.

Pretty cool to check it out, especially if you’re in the area for Pike’s Market or the first Starbucks store. Follow the crowd, you can’t miss it.

Seattle gum wall,
1428 Post Alley,
Seattle, WA 98101, United States
Seattle gum wall Google Map location