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250:. The crew picked Bubblegum Alley to film the episode on breaking the world record for largest bubblegum bubble. It featured record holder Susan "Chewsy Suzy" Williams, 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 was not shown on television. (Her record bubble, which was blown on national TV in 1996, was 23 inches.)
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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 as though they were a part of its creation. This instills a sense of stewardship in one’s community". Even the robotics Team 1717, featured in the book
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158:(Cal Poly) students. By the 1970s, Bubblegum Alley was well established. When shop owners complained that it was "unsanitary and disgusting", the alley underwent a full cleaning. The gum graffiti survived two full cleanings in the 1970s. In 1996, the BIA unsuccessfully attempted to have another alley cleaning.
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The Alley has 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
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According to the San Luis Obispo
Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Improvement Association (BIA), the origin of the gum is "a little sketchy". Some historians believe that the tradition of the alley started after WWII as a San Luis Obispo High School graduating class event. Others believe it
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Store owners' complaints concerning upkeep are countered by the argument that it increases foot traffic and business. Deborah Holley, administrator of the
Downtown Business Improvement Association, admits that despite the obvious problems it causes, it is nonetheless a landmark. The alley attracts
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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 some local politicians consider this alley to be an "eyesore", the
Chamber of Commerce lists it as a “special attraction”.
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on the walls of an alley. It is a 15-foot (4.6 m) high and 70-foot (21 m) long alley lined with chewed gum left by passers-by. It covers a stretch of 20 meters in the 700 block of
Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo.
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One Arroyo Grande poet who wishes to be known as "M" wrote in defense of the Gum Alley. His poem was published in Don Pieper’s article in the
Telegram-Tribune, 30, Apr 1986, "An Ode to Gum Alley".
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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
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tourists to the downtown, in such large numbers that there used to be a local radio station disc jockey that led people on bimonthly tours of the gum alley gallery.
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have addressed the disgusts and delights of the gum wall visitors. Other newspaper articles have appeared in the
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reported that Bill Hales, a local pub owner, pays for the alley to be steam-cleaned once a month.
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also aired a story on
October 14, 1984 about the alley. It was also featured on an episode of
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mentioned
Bubblegum Alley in his 1978 song "Take Me Down," an ode to San Luis Obispo.
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Lyons, Silas. "Getting Stuck with the
Cleaning." Telegram Tribune. 3 Aug 96
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Hillinger, Charles. "A Tacky Wall." Los Angeles Times. 17 June 79
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Asquith, Shirley. "Gum Alley Tour." Tolosa Times December 1997:
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526:"CBC Radio As it Happens, Entertainment: Bubblegum maddness"
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about an unfortunate accident occurring in Bubblegum Alley.
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Tourist attractions in San Luis Obispo County, California
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Buildings and structures in San Luis Obispo, California
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Wardlaw, Lee. Bubble Mania. Aladden Paperbacks, 1997
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recorded the song "Wall of Gum" on their 1999 album
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558:"Asked & Answered." New Times 11–18, Dec 1997:
150:started in the late 1950s, as the rivalry between
302:Judy Moody: Around the World in 8 and a Half Days
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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221:The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
156:California Polytechnic State University
244:featured Bubblegum Alley in the show
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132:is a tourist attraction in downtown
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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306:Stuck: A Bubblegum Alley Adventure
284:In chapter seventeen of the novel
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688:Bubblegum Alley SLO Facebook page
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501:"Local Links BubbleGum Alley"
236:, and on "California's Gold"
257:Ripley's Believe It or Not!
152:San Luis Obispo High School
134:San Luis Obispo, California
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593:"MTV- Call to Greatness"
758:Landmarks in California
724:35.279026°N 120.66376°W
651:"Yours, Mine, and Ours"
181:San Francisco Chronicle
125:Bubblegum Alley in 2013
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729:35.279026; -120.66376
323:Those Darn Accordions
273:United States of Tara
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360:Professional artists
286:Mr. Monk on the Road
43:improve this article
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599:on October 26, 2007
317:"Weird Al" Yankovic
263:The Girls Next Door
698:2015-11-01 at the
683:BGA by Bazooka Joe
227:That's Incredible!
187:Grand Rapids Press
169:The New York Times
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32:This article
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41:Please help
36:verification
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768:Chewing gum
727: /
715:120°39′50″W
693:Wall of Gum
335:Controversy
233:Real People
197:Times Union
162:Recognition
742:Categories
712:35°16′44″N
661:2007-05-03
603:2007-05-03
540:2007-05-07
511:2007-05-07
485:References
138:bubble gum
69:newspapers
328:Clownhead
702:(German)
696:Archived
530:CBC News
475:Gum Wall
469:See also
300:'s book
206:New York
192:Michigan
172:and the
479:Seattle
214:in the
145:History
83:scholar
381:Images
355:As art
208:, and
202:Albany
194:, the
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312:Music
280:Books
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90:JSTOR
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343:The
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266:on
252:ABC
242:MTV
238:PBS
190:in
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