St. Louis philanthropist Sunny Glassberg developed the idea and donated the funds for Turtle Park.[2] She hired Bob Cassilly to design the park and the St. Louis Parks Department and Forest Park Forever helped locate the land for the park, a strip of Forest Park that had been cut off by Interstate 64.[1] Glassberg wanted the park to be a fun place for children: "I wanted to give children a place where they could be happy, where they could feel inspired. Because I feel that that sort of thing is contagious."[2] The Park opened in August 1996. The reconstruction of Interstate 64 in 2009 necessitated the removal of the snake's head. Cassilly's team removed the head and the new bridge was designed in such a way that the head could be placed back on the overpass.[6]
Turtle Park was voted the "Best Picnic Spot" in St. Louis in 2011 by the Riverfront Times.[5] In 2015, MySun Charitable Foundation sponsored renovations to Turtle Park, including new turf, resurfacing the access path, and the installation of a water fountain.[3] Turtle Park - Wikipedia