Status: Preserved; renovation in progress

Address: 1397 Central Avenue, Memphis

Built: 1896

Architectural Style: Victorian

Original Function/Purpose: Residential

Date Listed on the National Register: January 13, 1983

National Register Reference Number Link: 83003061

History: Robert Brinkley Snowden, a prominent Memphis real estate developer, designed this midtown mansion in 1896. Snowden lived in the home until his death in 1942; the property was sold after the death of his wife in 1957. The mansion’s name derives from the term ashlar used to describe a squared, hewn stone. The house passed through the hands of a series of owners including perennial Memphis mayoral candidate Prince Mongo of Zambodia (Robert Hodges), accumulating blight along the way. There has been and still is an active case in Environmental Court, but in November 2018 the press 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 building could serve as an event or office space. In April 2019, progress was such that the building served as the venue for the production “Rites of Spring” by Memphis theatrical group Lost In Found. Although renovations were still incomplete, in September 2023 the owner received permission from the Division of Planning and Development "to operate this unique structure as an event center" that would "be in harmony with the surrounding neighborhood." And in May 2025 the Board of Adjustment granted the developer a "four-year extension to meet fire and building codes."

City Council District: 6

Super District: 8

County Commission District: 8