Prince Mongo’s Castle, also known as Ashlar Hall, is a mock castle in Memphis. After Robert Brinkley Snowden graduated from Princeton in 1890, he decided to return to his hometown to design and construct his family estate. Snowden, a prominent real estate developer, completed Ashlar Hall in 1896. The 11,000 square foot home has two floors with eight rooms plus a full basement and a large attic with servants’ quarters. An irregular shaped swimming pool is located outside, southwest of the house. The Snowden property stretched for 3,000 acres, well into Mississippi. The final cost for construction was around $25,000, roughly equivalent to $725,000 today.
Snowden’s great-grandfather, Col. Robert C. Brinkley started the Peabody Hotel several years prior. The Snowden family was considered Memphis royalty by the early 1900s and Brinkley Snowden was considered one of the premier real estate developers. The mansion was named Ashlar Hall due to it being almost entirely constructed of Ashlar Stone which was brought to town on barges. The past few decades have not been kind to this once opulent home.
After Robert Brinkley Snowden’s death in 1942, Ashlar Hall was passed on to his heirs. Upkeep proved to be difficult so the Snowden family filed an application with the city for non-residential use of the building. By the 1950s, the bedrooms were transformed into dining rooms and the mansion was being used as a restaurant. The front lawn was paved to provide additional parking in the 1960s.
Eccentric Memphis millionaire, Robert “Prince Mongo” Hodges, purchased Ashlar Hall in 1990. Prince Mongo is infamous for running for Mayor in every election and losing, as well as claiming to be 333 years old, and hailing from the fictional planet Zambodia. During the 1990s, Prince Mongo turned Ashlar Hall into a local late-night hangout called The Castle nightclub.
The advertisements of cheap beer and wet t-shirt contests lured in patrons by the dozen. The nightclub became notorious for serving alcohol to minors. Two teenagers were killed in a drunk driving accident in 1992 after leaving The Castle. Prince Mongo has always claimed he is innocent of any wrongdoing and no charges were ever filed.
Prince Mongo was able to get by many city infractions by putting the business in his employee’s name and just owning the property. Prince Mongo claimed he only collected rent as an absentee landlord.
With pressure from neighboring residents, the Fire Marshal changed the occupancy at The Castle from 451 to 88. The next day the club was shut down due to overoccupancy, so Prince Mongo had 800 tons of sand dumped in the parking lot. He moved the party outdoors to get around the Fire Marshal’s order. On occasion, Mongo would stand on the roof of The Castle and howl at the moon.
Once The Castle closed, Ashlar Hall sat vacant for years. The property sat in a state of disrepair for several years. Due to mounting city code violations, Prince Mongo gave away Ashlar Hall to a close friend who supposedly operated a nonprofit for veterans. Urban Renaissance Initiative acquired Ashlar Hall through a quitclaim deed from Prince Mongo in 2013.
The new owner hired a contractor who removed restaurant equipment still owned by Prince Mongo. The contractor removed pieces of copper that were apart of the roof and original stonework to sell. The items were never found. The large blue tarp used to cover portions of the roof is now dangling in front of the building, leaving the roof exposed to the elements. A warrant was issued for the contractor’s arrest in 2015; however, the fate of Prince Mongo’s Castle remains a mystery.
Wow, what a building. The land it site on must be valuable, and sadly more of a developer’s interest than the structure.
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Is this still standing? How difficult/safe is it to access?
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Yes it is still standing. Last I heard they have started working on it again
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It is still there. However, it has been under construction for a couple of years. Prince Mongo, the prior owner who operated the bar, was quite a wild man. He went barefooted all the time. More than that, though, he claimed to be from some strange planet. He was constantly in the environmental court for code violations of his home and other properties. Finally, he went off to FL and I don’t know his status now. One of the wealthiest families owned Ashlar Hall initially. Across the street was another home which a father gave to his daughter as a wedding gift. The two families were from the cream of the crop of Memphis, and there was a tunnel that went from one house to the other. I understand that tunnel was blocked off (I sure hope so). I live in Memphis and have photographed both homes. Wanda
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Oh, never heard of the tunnel! Fascinating. Thank you for sharing.
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Very ancient. You bring history to life. Thanks. I really have never heard of this place before. Glad to know about it. 🙂 ❤
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Thanks!
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You welcome. 🙂
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Reblogged this on History Present and commented:
I am drawn to this blog… fascinated at the things we abandon. What was it like when the last person to use these spaces walked out?
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I went to college in Memphis, but I never heard of this place. It looks so sad now.
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A castle doesn’t look totally abandoned.
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When I was in the Navy and stationed outside memphis I went to one of Mongo’s clubs. For a small town redneck from Texas it was an experience I’ve never forgotten. Saint Mongo left such a big impression on me and will always cherish my time in Memphis. Will all my travels in the Navy to this day Memphis holds the top of my list of greatest places I visited. Love the dark and vibe of the city.
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i have never seen this Castle. I did meet the Prince recently though and he was delightful
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http://wreg.com/2017/08/25/ashlar-halls-new-owner-hopes-to-restore-historic-landmark-soon/
an article from 2017
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Thanks for the terrific post
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Historical note – A contractor/builder bought it in 1991 and then sold it a couple of months
later to Steven Dunlap. Steven renovated it inside and out. He is the one that opened it as a nightclub simply called “Castle”. I still have a t-shirt with the club logo on it.
Steven incorporated modern accents including neon inside. He used the upstairs as living quarters.
Unfortunately, the neighbors complained voraciously about the club. Because of this and a new financial adventure awaiting him in Florida, Steven sold Ashlar Hall to Robert “Prince Mongo” Hodges in 1993.
Sadly it is Mongo who eventually destroyed/neglected Ashlar Hall.
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Correction – We all knew it was Mongo buying the property from Steven but for legal purposes initially sold to Mongo’s brother.
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Upon complete control of the property, I plan on reopening The Castle as “Planet Mongo” a throw back 1920’s Speak Easy/Night Club with a strict dress code and every room Live Musical Entertainment nightly (Thurs.-Sun). Working on transporting Raifords dance floor to the main floor. Piano Bar top floor. Live band 2nd floor. Dance club main floor. Speak Easy in the basement.
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Is there any way I could get a tour?
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damn wild history
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