397 Central Ave. Memphis, TN
Circa 1896. 2.5 story ashlar stone castle-like
Ashlar Hall was built by (Robert) Brinkley Snowden (1866-1942) and Sara Eliza Day Snowden (1871-1956) on 7 acres.They wed in 1892. In 1896, the various Snowden family lands totaled 3,000 acres and stretched well into Mississippi. He was a primary real estate developer in Memphis in the early 1900s. He developed three early subdivisions: Annesdale Park (1903); Annesdale-Snowden (1906) and Stonewall Place (1909). Snowden was also involved with the Chisca Hotel (1913); Commerce Title Building (1904), the Lowenstein Building (1924), the Peabody Hotel (1925), and National Bank of Commerce (1929). He was also important in the establishment of the Memphis Municipal Airport in 1929 and its site development.
For nearly half a century, the Snowden family resided there. After the death of Sara in 1956, the City of Memphis purchased the property. The city sold part of the estate for high rise towers.
Shortly after, in the late 1950s, Elfo Grisanti, a part of the famed Memphis restaurant Grisanti family, bought and opened Grisanti’s in Ashlar Hall and ran there until 1962 when he moved the restaurant. The Snowden heirs sold a parcel of the property to develop highrise buildings.
In 1971-1991, Kemmons Realty Co. owned the property and operated it with the Grisanti family as the Ashlar Hall Restaurant.
In 1991, Memphis millionaire Robert Hodges, aka “Prince Mongo” owned the home and ran it as a club called The Castle. For years, it was a controversial nightspot. Hodges eventually closed the club but retained ownership. He supposedly gave it to a friend Kenny Medlin in 2013.
In 2016, Juan Montoya purchased the property and used it as an arts site. NR 1983
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