Bell System Turtle

[Sargeguy]

Here is one you don't see everyday.  If it was N.E.T&T I would have already hit the BIN button

RARE RARE ANTIQUE "NEW BELL TELEPHONE BUILDING ST. LOUIS, MO" BRONZE TURTLE

[Russ Kirk]

This is a very odd piece.  Does anybody know why the turtle was chosen?  Is this a real Bell  item or an item that was made in someone's basement?

[Sargeguy]

It was probably a one-off that was given to an executive either of the Bell operating company or to the builder as a joke.  The turtle is perhaps a reference to how long it took to finish the building?

Edit;  A quick look at Wikipedia shows that the building, completed in 1926, was the first in ST. Louis to use "setbacks" in which higher floors are stepped in order to avoid casting shadows on the street below.  Maybe this architectural feature reminded people of the shape of a snapping turtle's shell?