Public Collections of Gum

Wall of Gum - Seattle, WA

Post Alley Wall of Gum outside Pike's Place Market

Gum Wall, also known as the Wall of Gum, originated in the early 1990s when theater patrons began placing their gum on the wall while waiting for tickets or admittance. The Wall of Gum is located near Pike's Place Market which is know for throwing fish (much like Lew Zealand)

San Luis Obispo, CA

Bubble Gum Alley

Bubble Gum Alley, in San Luis Obispo, California is a tourist landmark comprised of a 15 foot high and 70 foot long alley covered nearly entirely with bubble gum left by passers-by. The gum survived two full cleanings in the seventies, and nearly had to survive another in 1996 (but the cleaning was voted down). A poet referred to as "M", from Arroyo Grande, wrote in Don Pieper's article "An Ode to Gum Alley":
"We write our epitaphs on walls with gum,
And though it may be meaning less to some,
We have a symbol of our gummy youth,
Whose walls may not tell some glorious truth,
But eloquently speak of better times,
Of cruising, shopping sprees, and nursery rhymes.
If gum is all you see upon our wall,
Your mind is closed, your spirit shrunk and small,
Though memories of youth may never last,
Gum Alley is our present to our past."

More Gum Stuck on Stuff

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way.. things I had no words for.
-Georgia O'Keeffe

Gum Trees

Chewing Gum Stick to the Old Gum Tree

There is a great tree in Washington DC along the Tidal Basin. You can see the Jefferson Memorial in the background. There are other gum trees including the tree in front of the Ford's Theatre, where Lincoln was shot, and a gum tree on South Street in Philadelphia.

Bubble Gum Chewing: America's Favorite Pastime

Regardless of age, race, gender, or location, people love bubble gum!

I can make a ball of gum hover above my lips with some pinpoint blowing.
-Jason Bateman

I pop gum. My parents get so annoyed with me. I know my dad wishes he never taught me how to do that.
-Hilary Duff

It's just a show. It's not the end of Western Civilization. It's chewing gum.
-Jerry Springer

Well, normally, I'm a gum chewer. But when I heard about these ticket things of Wonka's, I laid off the gum and switched to candy bars, instead. Now, of course, I'm right back on gum. I chew it all day, except at mealtimes when I stick it behind my ear.
-Violet Beauregarde