Historic ‘Tommy the Turtle’ play sculpture will survive Prairie Village park’s upgrades

Prairie Village’s Harmon Park is on the verge of a complete renovation.

At the top of the improvement list is the installation of a new treehouse-style inclusive playset that will replace the current playground.

The city plans to spend more than $3 million in overall improvements at Harmon Park over the next two years.

But one thing that will remain: “Tommy the Turtle,” a piece of mid-century play equipment that hearkens back to Prairie Village’s early days as a growing suburb.

“Tommy the Turtle” will be part of Harmon Park’s upgrades

• City Engineer Melissa Prenger told the city council last week that “Tommy the Turtle” isn’t going anywhere.
• The concrete turtle will be saved and incorporated into the new play area, Prenger said.
• “After we get done building this [new] playset, we will go back into the heart of the old playset, remove the equipment and return that to the green area,” Prenger told the city council. “Tommy is going to stay where he is.”

“Turtle tents” were trendy in mid-century playgrounds

• Designed by sculptor Milton Hebald and promoted by Parents’ Magazine, “turtle tents” were meant to fire children’s imagination and promote independent play.
• Prenger said Tommy over the decades has become submerged so far into the ground that children can’t actually crawl underneath it now, though they can climb on it.
• The plan is to raise Tommy back up to surface level, allowing for smaller children to play under it, as well as on top of the turtle, she said.

Tommy first made his mark at Windsor Park

• Tommy originally came to Prairie Village in the early 1950s with four baby turtle play structures for a grand total of $544 at the time, according to information Prenger sent the Post.
• It is unclear when Tommy made his way from Windsor Park to Harmon Park.
• Prenger told the city council last week that there aren’t many of these turtle tents in the area.
• City staff plans to hunt down the other four baby turtles, as well, Prenger said.

Go deeper: Price tag for Prairie Village Harmon Park improvements going up