SHELL-SHOCKED: beloved bronze turtle missing from Gage Park fountain, presumed stolen
If you pinched the beloved turtle, now is the chance to return it ‘no questions asked’
Attention, presumed reptile raiders: bring back the beloved Gage Park turtle — or risk East End justice.
It appears someone has again stolen a member of the bronze turtle family that has spouted water and offered rides to delighted toddlers at the Gage Park fountain for close to a century.
The 20-pound turtle — one of four at the sprawling 1920s-era fountain — has been missing from its stone sunning spot since the weekend, if
not longer.
“At this point I’m 99-percent sure it was theft,” said new city heritage manager John Summers, who had not yet reported the apparent heritage heist to police in the faint hope the turtle was removed, unbeknownst to him, for repairs.
(That uncertainty only exists because a city conservator is on emergency pandemic leave and not immediately reachable. But Summers noted heritage repairs were suspended by the city’s COVID-19 closure back in March.)
If thievery is to blame, Summers is offering a time-limited amnesty for anyone with a guilty conscious. “If someone wanted to just put our turtle back I would accept that, no questions asked,” he suggested hopefully.
Surprisingly, there is historical precedent to back up his feeling of hope.
The Gage Park fountain turtles have endured decades of abuse — including regular graffiti paint jobs, repeated efforts to lop off their bronze heads and stuff sticks down their mouth-spouts.
But most infamously, one was stolen in the 1996 — and then returned in the dead of night, after a month or so of “building community outrage,” said David Beland, a longtime organizer with the Friends of Gage Park.
“I remember the word went out, that any thief might just face East End justice if that turtle was not returned,” said Beland, laughing at the memory. “And as you know, that turtle was returned.”
(The Spectator reported police were tipped off about the returned tortoise with a phone call at 2:40 a.m. The thief was never outed.)
Beland is not sure a return is as likely today, noting metal thieves increasingly target heritage sites for “anything that even looks like metal,” including historical plaques and other bronze or copper features.
“It’s not even worth that much money, as metal,” he said. “They’ll try to rip of pieces and sell them for about four bucks and then (city officials) spend thousands to remake and replace these items.”
The exact cost of hatching a new turtle was not immediately available. But 20 years ago, the insurance replacement value was about $3,600.
This turtle was touched up several years ago as part of a multi-year, $600,000 rehabilitation and rebuild of the entire fountain that was designed by high-level bridge architect John Lyle, and turned on in 1927.
The city has a mould of the turtle and will replace it if needed, said Summers, but not until the pandemic pause is over.