Bubblegum Alley facts for kids
Bubblegum Alley is a really unique place in downtown San Luis Obispo, California. It's famous for its walls that are completely covered in used bubble gum! Imagine an alley about 15 feet (4.5 meters) high and 70 feet (21 meters) long, totally lined with colorful, chewed gum left by people visiting. You can find it on Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo.
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The Story of Bubblegum Alley
No one is completely sure how Bubblegum Alley started. It's a bit of a mystery!
Some people think the tradition began right after World War II. They believe it was a special event for graduating students from San Luis Obispo High School.
Others think it started in the late 1950s. This was due to a friendly competition between students from San Luis Obispo High School and California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly).
By the 1970s, Bubblegum Alley was already very well known. Some shop owners nearby thought it was "unsanitary and disgusting." Because of their complaints, the alley was cleaned completely two times in the 1970s. But guess what? The gum "graffiti" always came back! In 1996, there was another try to clean the alley, but it didn't work out. The gum stayed!
Bubblegum Alley in the Spotlight
Over the years, Bubblegum Alley has become quite famous. It has been shown on many TV shows and news programs. It has also been written about in newspapers all around the world.
Newspapers like The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have written about how people feel about the gum wall. Some visitors find it gross, while others think it's really cool! Other articles have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian in the United Kingdom, and more.
TV shows have also featured the alley. It was filmed for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, That's Incredible!, and Real People. The PBS show "California's Gold" also visited. MTV even showed Bubblegum Alley in an episode of Call to Greatness. They filmed there to try and break the world record for the biggest bubblegum bubble!
ABC’s Ripley's Believe It or Not! also shared a story about the alley in 1984. It was also seen on an episode of The Girls Next Door on E! and mentioned in United States of Tara.
Books and Music
Bubblegum Alley has even appeared in books! In the novel Mr. Monk On the Road by Lee Goldberg, the alley is described and is where a character finds something important. It's also mentioned in Megan McDonald's book Judy Moody: Around the World in 8 and a Half Days.
Musicians have sung about it too! ["Weird Al" Yankovic|"Weird Al" Yankovic]] mentioned Bubblegum Alley in his 1978 song "Take Me Down." The band Those Darn Accordions recorded a song called "Wall of Gum" in 1999, which was inspired by the alley.
Gum as Art
Bubblegum Alley isn't just a wall of gum; it has also inspired professional artists!
Professional Artists
One artist, Matthew Hoffman, created a giant picture of himself on the wall. It's called "Projectbubble Gum." This amazing self-portrait shows him blowing a bubble, and it's made entirely out of bubble gum! He needed a lot of gum for this project. The community helped him get it by chewing gum and donating it.
Matthew believes that when people help create something in their community, they feel more connected to it. He said, "The community chewed the bubblegum, and many individuals [felt] as though they were a part of its creation." This helps people feel like they belong and want to take care of their community. Even the robotics Team 1717, who are in a book called The New Cool, are shown in neon blue gum in the alley!
Poets
A poet from Arroyo Grande, who likes to be known as “M,” even wrote a poem defending the Gum Alley. His poem was published in a newspaper article in 1986, called "An Ode to Gum Alley."
