LARME Autumn 2020

LARME Autumn 2020

(ღ)

The Swinger’s Tiki Palace was a dream home idea of Billy Hull, a strip club owner in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Located atop a Ridge, the house overlooked the city. After 2 yrs of planning, architect Ed Ball set out to build the most fantastic house in Tennessee. Anticipation grew in the 14 months it took to complete.

Billy & Gloria Hull pose for a photo inside their new home. Sadly, Gloria found a boyfriend and Billy hired his friend Larry Parker, to shoot him. Billy was found guilty of murder-for-hire and sentenced to 20 yrs in the State Penitentiary.

In 1972, close to 10,000 people attended the open house. Billy Hull lived in the home for only a year before the murder-for-hire scheme. Columns were added to the front during a 1990s renovation.

Life after prison was not easy for Billy Hull and it is unclear if Billy and Gloria ever divorced.  Billy passed away in 2008. People may have moved in & out of the house, and in 2014 it was listed for sale. 

By 2015, the home had been severely vandalized and was in foreclosure. 

The Playboy pool was the focal point of the home and the first thing you saw when you entered the front door. The massive 12-foot deep, 20 x 40-foot pool was electrically heated and had separate humidity controls.

A broken chandelier hangs under a faded skylight above the pool.

A faux rock waterfall and diving board sit on the far side with a fireplace, a sitting area and full bar. Large tinted glass walls separated the bedrooms from the pool room.

Live palm trees were planted around the pool area. The walls were covered in tiki-style bamboo matting.

The pool had swim tunnels leading to separate bedrooms that were behind tinted glass.

The master bedroom with built-in mirrored cabinets and closed-circuit tv monitors of the pool room as well as an intercom system.

Marble and faux rock cover the walls in the living room located in the back of the house.

The living room had another full marble bar and mirrored walls with a wall of doors leading out to the patio area.

The patio area featured a 12-person jacuzzi tub, copper top outdoor tiki bar, and a large sauna.

Metal face sculpture attached to the outdoor sauna. The property was condemned and seized by the city for unpaid taxes. On Sept. 7, 2017, the city demolished the Swinger’s Tiki Palace.

https://abandonedsoutheast.com/