Bubblegum Alley

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Bubblegum Alley is a local tourist landmark in downtown San Luis Obispo, California, known for its accumulation of used bubble gum on the walls of an alley.^[1] It is a 15-foot (4.6 m) high and 70-foot (21 m) long alley lined with chewed gum left by passers-by. The locally created, "most-talked-about landmark" covers a stretch of 20 meters between 733 and 734 Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo.^[1][2]

Contents 1 History 2 Recognition 3 Traditions and Myths 4 Controversy 5 As art 6 Images 7 See also 8 References

[edit] History

According to the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Improvement Association, the history of who actually started this gum fiesta is "a little sketchy"^[3]. Some historians believe that the tradition of the Alley started after WWII as a San Luis Obispo High School graduating class event^[4]. Others believe it to have started in the late 1950s as 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^[3]. In any case, by the 1970s Bubblegum Alley was well under way. When shop owners complained that it was "unsanitary and disgusting"^[5], the alley underwent a full cleaning. The gum graffiti survived two full cleanings in the '70s^[3], but when, in 1996, the BIA attempted to have another full cleaning, it was not passed.

[edit] Recognition

Throughout the years, San Luis Obispo's Bubblegum Alley has been featured on a number of television shows, news programs, and in newspapers around the world. Newspapers such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have addressed the disgusts and delights of the gum wall visitors. Other newspaper articles have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Grand Rapids Press in Michigan, the Times Union from Albany, New York, and The Guardian in Manchester, United Kingdom. KSBY Action 6 News did a story about the alleyway and broadcast it nationally.^[6] TV crews filmed the alley for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, That’s Incredible!, Real People, and on PBS^[5]. MTV featured Bubblegum Alley in the show Call to Greatness. ^[7] The crew picked Bubblegum Alley to film the episode on breaking the world record for largest bubblegum bubble. It featured record holder Susan Montgumery Williams, or as she's known in the business, "Chewsy Suzy", and at the end of the show a graphic was shown that said that while she was there she blew a 24-inch (610 mm) bubble, which wasn't shown on TV (Her record bubble, which was blown on national TV in 1996, was 23 inches). ABC’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not also aired a story on October 14, 1984 about the alley. It was also recently featured on an episode of The Girls Next Door on E!.

[edit] Traditions and Myths

An alleyway full of over-chewed, 40-year-old bubble gum sounds unpleasant, but contrary to that belief many have started their own gummy traditions to keep this alleyway a must-see. One obvious tradition is the different fraternity and sorority letters. The picture below of Phi Sigma Kappa’s is just one example of the many fraternity letters all around the Alley. Each year as new students rush, their goal is to out-do the last rushing class^{[citation needed]}. Many passers-by, who are unfamiliar with fraternity and sorority life, get confused about what the Greek letters stand for. Another tradition that might confuse someone unfamiliar with the area is the variety of numbers lining the walls. To most people they may seem like a random assortment of numbers, but to any Cal Poly student these numbers represent Week of Welcome (or WOW) numbers. WOW is the first week before school starts in the fall for incoming freshmen; each WOW group has a different number and the leaders of each group take their students to Bubblegum Alley to leave their first mark on the city. Some just stick their gum on the overloaded walls while others get creative and leave their actual group number.

Not only is it thought that the alley carries luck^{[citation needed]}, but also signs of affection. On the walls of the Alley couples show their love for each other in the form of gum. While people enjoy expressing their fraternity sign, WOW pride and affection for others on the walls, they make Bubblegum Alley an ever-changing landmark.

[edit] Controversy

In San Luis Obispo, college students, local politicians, tourists, civic leaders, store owners, and the town historian all have one thing in common—an opinion concerning Bubblegum Alley. Agreement whether these gum-covered walls should remain a part of quaint downtown San Luis Obispo has not been reached since its founding. While the town historian and local politicians consider this alley to be an “eyesore”,^[8] the Chamber of Commerce lists it as a “special attraction”.^[9].

While some bubble with joy at the unique spectacle, others consider this spot to be a giant cleaning project that a select few are getting stuck with. The Telegram Tribune reported that Bill Hales, a local pub owner, pays for the alley to be steam-cleaned once a month.^[10] Jim Kilbride’s business, Natural Selection, is right beside the alley and he has to scrape chewed wads of gum off of his windows every Monday morning. Hales and Kilbride agree that it is not the gooey gum that bothers them, but rather the tendency of people to use the alley as a public restroom. There have been talks about lighting it, gating it, creating an entrance, and handing out hoses. So far, hoses have been handed out to store owners.

Store owners’ complaints concerning upkeep are countered by the argument that it increases foot traffic and business. Debrorah Holley, administrator of the Downtown Business Improvement Association, admits that despite the obvious problems it causes, it is nonetheless a landmark ^[11]. This one-of-a-kind spectacle attracts tourists to the downtown, in such large numbers that there used to be a local radio station DJ that led people on bimonthly tours of the “Gum Alley gallery”.^[8] Gumball machines can be found in most stores nearby, benefiting from the alley's popularity, and most downtown businesses value the attraction.

The strength of the alley has been tested by angry store owners, ecologically minded locals, scrapers, and even fire hoses. In 1985, firemen hosed down the sticky walls, but the gum-chewers proved to be more determined than ever. Within the month fresh wads appeared on the wall and Bubblegum Alley once again prevailed. The red bricks that lay beneath this unusual mask have been hidden since the 1960s.

[edit] As art

Some people in San Luis Obispo consider the wall a form of art, and sticking gum on a wall is to many locals a harmless act. One may see various brands of gum, including Bazooka, Winter Fresh, Double mint, and Orbit, lining the walls in an array of shapes, words, and questionable designs. There are faces and flowers, fraternity and sorority letters, and "I love SLO" spelled out in different colors and sizes. A closer glance at the gum-infested wall will expose an abundance of objects, such as pennies and dimes, sticking out of the wall as eyes for gum faces. There are gum wrappers placed strategically to add to the designs, and occasionally someone will hang a condom from the wall in hopes to disgust passers-by, but mostly the alley is appropriate for all ages and encourages everyone’s creative contributions.

Professional artists

The Alley doesn’t only attract amateurs to paste their gum artwork on the wall; it has also inspired professional artists such as Matthew Hoffman. On the east end of the alley, up high on the north-facing wall, a giant self-portrait of Hoffman titled "Projectbubble Gum" is created entirely with bubble gum. The picture of the artist blowing a bubble required a tremendous amount of gum, which he was able to get with the help of the community. His theory is, "if an individual participates in their community they will earn an invested interest in their community. The community chewed the bubblegum, and many individuals [felt] as though they were a part of its creation. This instills a sense of stewardship in one’s community".^[12]

"Projectbubble Gum" is the largest piece in the Alley and is higher up than most to ensure its survival.

Poets

Not only have gum-chewing artists been motivated by the alley; poets have been inspired by the gum walls as well. One Arroyo Grande poet who wishes to be known as “M” writes in defense of the Gum Alley. His poem was published in Don Pieper’s article "An Ode to Gum Alley":

We write our epitaphs on walls with gum,
And though it may be meaningless 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.”

-“M”, Arroyo Grande^[13]

[edit] Images

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bubblegum Alley

[edit] See also

• Gum Wall in Seattle.

[edit] References

Coordinates: 35°16′44″N 120°39′50″W / 35.279026°N 120.66376°W / 35.279026; -120.66376