Ashlar Hall in Memphis could turn into an event space: What’s planned

Climbing up an unstable ladder, I follow Ivan Montoya into a dusty crawl space in the attic of Ashlar Hall.

He motions toward another ladder and tells me to be careful, this part is heavy, as he begins moving a concrete slab covering the rooftop entrance.

A few moments later we’re standing atop the castle in Central Gardens.

“This place is magical for me,” Montoya says as he looks out toward the west, pointing at Downtown’s skyline in the distance.

And to be fair, there is something odd and magical about a stone castle in the middle of two high-rise apartment buildings.

Outside the main entrance to the historic Ashlar Hall at 1397 Central Ave. The current owners are looking to renovate and convert the space into an event venue.

Ashlar Hall dates back to 1896. The original home still stands at 1397 Central Ave. It was constructed by Memphis architect, Robert Brinkley Snowden.

Snowden built the nearly 11,200-square-foot castle as a family residence. The façade and interior are a culmination of various architectural designs from Gothic masonry on the outside to Italian Renaissance-inspired stained glass and mantles on the inside. The mashup mirrors the “eclectic architecture movement” that was popular at the time, according to the building’s National Register of Historic Places nomination.

Snowden was a great-grandchild of Judge John Overton. Overton helped found Memphis alongside, Andrew Jackson and James Winchester. After studying architecture at Princeton, Snowden went on to design several notable Memphis structures including the Chisca Hotel, the Commerce Title Building, The Peabody hotel, National Bank of Commerce and the Memphis Municipal Airport.

He, and his family, resided in the Ashlar Hall property until his death in 1942. The property remained with his family until his wife passed in the 1950s. The original property included 8 acres, which the Venue and Central Garden apartment buildings now sit on. Ashlar Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Montoya’s brother, Juan, bought the property in 2016 for $59,000. The pair plan to reopen the historic property as an event center. Like the building, that journey has been atypical.

Ashlar Hall’s damage and repairs

Juan’s daughter, Jessica, said when they purchased the building the interior was heavily damaged primarily from water damage. The western tower was badly damaged and water had leaked through, damaging the main entrance and middle foyer.

Inside the foyer are wooden carvings. They decorate the building’s main hall and second-story balcony that overlooks the main corridor. Ivan said he and Juan had to create replicates of the damaged wooden carvings using silicone; a trial-and-error process that took three years to perfect.

He jests that now, he can’t tell which ones are originals or replicas.

The Montoyas, who are originally from Colombia, relocated to Memphis in 2003. Jessica said her father was always fond of Ashlar Hall and when he purchased it the goal was always to restore the beauty of the building.

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It’s been nothing short of a labor of love, she said. The damaged stone tower had to be repaired with limestone from a quarry in Indiana. (Snowden’s original design included stone from Indiana quarries that were shipped down the Mississippi River.) The tower restoration cost approximately $270,000, she said.

The ground floor, which also endured significant water damage, had to be repaired using portions of the second-floor wood panels to preserve historical accuracy. In total, she said the family has already spent upward of $1 million in renovations. The Montoyas are still doing roof repair and restoring the copper exterior on the rear of the property facing Lamar Avenue.

Prince Mongo’s days at Ashlar Hall

The multiple facets of the building, however, are Jessica’s favorite part.

“From every side it looks different,” she said.

That includes the basement, which has a Picasso-like tile painting at its center.

“Oh, that’s from Prince Mongo,” Jessica Montoya said.

An eccentric character, as Montoya describes the former building owner, Robert Hodges. The former Memphis celebrity and pseudo-politician called Ashlar Hall home during the ’90s and 2000s. The portrait was his “alien counterpart.”

Robert “Prince Mongo” Hodges acquired the building in November 1993. His brother Bernand Hodges purchased the property for $300,000, according to the Shelby County Register of Deeds. (Kemmons Wilson Company owned the property from 1971 to 1991 and filed the National Register of Historic Places nomination.)

“Prince Mongo” Hodges used the property as a party palace for the better half his ownership. Prior to the Hodges ownership the building operated as a restaurant. The remnants of a bar and kitchen area still reside in the basement of the building. During the Snowden family’s tenure, the basement served as a wine cellar.

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What’s next for Ashlar Hall?

The Montoyas expect the building will still need at least a year of renovation before it is ready to open as an event space. Once completed they hope to host smaller 100- to 200-person gatherings to accent the intimacy of the building and its design.

On Aug. 29, Juan Montoya filed a variance permit with the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development to convert the historic property into an event venue. The renovated property would include 37 parking spaces adjacent to the property.

“It is generally felt that proposed event center use is the highest and best use for the property given the neighborhood context and the historic character of the surrounding residences and the University Club just down the block to the West,” David Bray of the Bray Firm said in a letter of intent.

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