PLACE: Bubble Gum Alley (SLO)!

So TOTALLY gross and so COMPLETELY cool!

Where is it? Bubblegum Alley is located between 733 and 734 Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo.

What is it? It is a 15-foot high and 70-foot long alley lined with chewed gum left by passers-by. Including us!

How did it start? Some historians believe that the tradition of the Alley started after WWII as a San Luis Obispo High School graduating class event. Others think it started in the late 1950s as a rivalry between San Luis Obispo High School and Cal Poly students. As soon as the Poly students suspected that the high school was trying to out-do them on the gum walls, the college students stepped up their game and immediately became more creative, thus launching Bubblegum Alley. By the 1970s Bubblegum Alley was well underway.

Does it ever get cleaned? When shop owners complained that it was “unsanitary and disgusting,” the alley underwent a full cleaning. The gum graffiti survived two thorough cleanings in the ’70s, but when, in 1996, there was an attempt to have another complete cleaning, it was not passed, so the gum wall is here to stay for the immediate future.

Are there other gum walls? Yes! There is an official gum wall in Seattle, Washington and Greenville, Ohio.

Ps. Did you know that gum is illegal in Singapore?