Abandoned Southeast

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Ashlar Hall

Ashlar Hall is a mock castle in Memphis, Tennessee sometimes referred to as Prince Mongo’s Castle.  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 and stained-glass windows imported from Italy. An irregularly shaped swimming pool was once located outside, southwest of the house. The final cost for construction was around $25,000, roughly equivalent to $725,000 today. At the time, the Snowden property stretched for 3,000 acres, well into Mississippi.

Ashlar Hall

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. Robert Brinkley Snowden lived in Ashlar Hall until he died in 1942. The property was sold after the death of his wife in 1957. By the 1960s, the bedrooms had been transformed into dining rooms and the mansion was being used as a restaurant. The front lawn was even paved to provide additional parking. Ashlar Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

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.

Ashlar Hall
An ad for Mongo’s The Castle nightclub

Hodges claimed he is innocent of any wrongdoing and no charges were ever filed. He was able to get by many city infractions by putting the business in his employee’s name and just owning the property. Hodges 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. In response, Prince Mongo had 800 tons of sand dumped in the parking lot and moved the party outdoors to get around the fire marshal’s order. On occasion, Hodges would stand on the roof of The Castle and howl at the moon.

Once The Castle closed, Ashlar Hall sat vacant for several years. Due to mounting city code violations, Prince Mongo gave away the property to a close friend who supposedly operated a nonprofit for veterans. Urban Renaissance Initiative acquired Ashlar Hall through a quitclaim deed from Robert Hodges in 2013. The new owner hired a contractor who removed restaurant equipment still owned by Prince Mongo, and pieces of copper that were a part of the roof and original stonework to sell. These items were never recovered. A warrant was later issued for the contractor’s arrest in 2015.

In November 2018, media outlets reported the new owner, Juan Montoya, had made progress in repairing the building. He believed the entire renovation might require as much as $400,000, after which the property could be used as an event or office space. In April 2019, Ashlar Hall served as the venue for the production “Rites of Spring” by Memphis theatrical group Lost In Found.

Ashlar Hall
Ashlar Hall in 2016.

Ashlar Hall

Ashlar Hall
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Ashlar Hall
Ashlar Hall
Ashlar Hall
Mongo’s Spirits painted on a basement wall.
Ashlar Hall
Ashlar Hall

Ashlar Hall

Ashlar Hall
Ashlar Hall
Ashlar Hall

40 comments

    1. It’s in Memphis, so I doubt the property is worth much. Sadly, Memphis is in shambles and nothing outside of Downtown is really worth developing.

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      1. I used to live in the apartment Tower right next door to the castle. It is actually located at the edge of downtown and Midtown in Memphis but the property that it sits on isn’t much bigger than the structure itself. I would absolutely love to see this property renovated and turned into a vacation rental or Airbnb.

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      2. Not true I was Born and raised My whole Life here in Memphis Tennessee and I am Now 38 and Memphis has A LOT TO OFFER AND LOTS OF MONEY THAT CAN AND WILL BE MADE. Thanks

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      3. Spoken like someone who knows little about Memphis. Memphis has its dead areas but there is new construction and development happening all the time around town.

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      4. Memphis is awesome – you should visit soon as you obviously have not seen us lately- Memphis Rocks❤️

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    2. 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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    2. I remember when it was a restaurant. It was Conestoga Steakhouse. It was part of the original one that was in Horn Lake, MS. It was pretty cool how they kept all the rooms and added 2-4 tables in each room. Some rooms had fireplaces too. Had to go downstairs to the bathrooms.
      Not sure how long it stayed in business.

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  7. 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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  9. Pingback: Memphis Mansions - Asher Hall and Annesdale - Memphis Type History

  12. 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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    1. 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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  13. 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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      1. The former Raiford’s in Memphis was nothing but a nuisance bar and was, in fact, shut down for that reason. I would not be at all excited about such a place being opened there. Ashlar Hall (the castle) was first built with a lustrous history which, long ago, faded and was lost forever. Thanks to Prince Mongo Hodges, the place is now tainted and will, most likely, now always be thought of as his place. I think it is a money pit which I would not touch. If there are salvageable parts of the house that can be saved and preserved, dismantling the place would be my best suggestion. ***Keep in mind, too, that is now is in a “hood” where nothing good happens after midnight (or any other time of the day).

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  15. Mongo was featured on one of Mike Wolfe’s (Antique Archeology) American Pickers Shows a few years back. A wannabe deviant character for sure. Really a shame that this once & potential showpiece could not be a part of Urban Revitalization for Memphis like a lot of cities these days. Maybe FedEx or University of Memphis could make this property reputable again & encourage investment in this area of town.
    The worst areas of Nashville are being renovated blocks at a time. However, I don’t agree with the over build/increase density overlays that are being allowed were up to 4 two story tall thins are being allowed on 1 quarter acre lot.

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  16. Pingback: Finding The 10 Best Abandoned Places In Tennessee In 2022 – Killer Urbex

  17. Went dancing here many times when I was in college in Memphis. Sad to see it in such disrepair. Glad to hear it’s being working on though.

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  18. Pingback: Inside abandoned Tennessee castle with dark past and links to millionaire Prince Mongo -

  20. The black and white photo from ca. 1960 shows a 1958 DeSoto on the right, and the delivery truck on the left is from G. J. Barsotti & Co., a cigarette vending company from Memphis. The small car in the middle is probably a BMW Isetta.

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  22. It’s good that Mongo has left Memphis. That maniac left a trail of destruction wherever he went.

    Ashlar Hall is in a marginal neighborhood, but certainly not a bad part of town. The main thing holding this beautiful old building back is the tremendous expense of renovation, and then **what are you going to do with an old stone mansion??**

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  23. I was a regular at the castle in the mid to late 90s and had some of the best time of my life there. Dancing all night in the basement or out swimming in the pool, playing Volleyball, there was 3 or 4 bars in the place in was an Amazing club!! And whoever said that it’s in the hood I’d obviously ot from Memphis yes its a few blocks from south Memphis but it’s located in the historic Central Gardens area and housed there sell for well over a million dollars which is probably why it’s still sitting. The property value and renovations would be in the millions of dollars. It would take someone with the money and an idea of what to do with it. I honestly think it should be turned back into a night club, if you were around and saw all the people there you would know what I meant.

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