
An abandoned party mansion featuring a creepy Playboy bunny pool has been documented by an intrepid urban explorer.

The Swingers' Tiki Palace in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was built by strip club tycoon Billy Hull in 1972.

The 5,600 square foot home was known for its unique Playboy bunny-shaped pool with ear-shaped swimming tunnels that lead to the bedrooms.

Billy Hull is thought to have hosted a few wild parties in the mansion but it has been largely abandoned since 1973, when he was convicted of hiring a man to kill his wife's lover

This photograph, published in 1972 in a trade magazine, is believed to show Billy Hull and his wife Gloria in their new home. Barely a year later Hull (left) was jailed for hiring a man to kill his wife's lover, Roland Hargis

But the place was left to rot 12 months later after Hull was charged with hiring a hitman to murder his wife Gloria's lover and pleaded guilty to income tax evasion.

Hull was jailed for 20 years for hiring an assassin to kill Roland Hargis, as he emerged from the Tradewinds nightclub in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Hull's grandmother Katie Holcomb had run a bootleg whiskey operation, and he was convicted of tax evasion in relation to her estate when she died in 1969, according documents about his life.

Photographer Naaman Fletcher, 30, from Birmingham, Alabama, has been snapping abandoned buildings since 2009 and heard of the notorious palace through a friend.

His photo series show the vandalized remains of the building with floor to ceiling marble and chandeliers still intact.

The Playboy bunny logo was used for the floor of the swimming pool (left) while the house's decor is a mixture of faux Polynesian, French and what can only be described (right) as Flintstones

‹ Slide me › These images compare the entrance to the mansion in 1972, with the distinctive Polynesian-style figures, known as Tikis, on either side of the front door, with the abandoned entrance as it is today with graffiti daubed on the Tikis

Mr Fletcher said: 'The story of the place is very interesting. It all centres around Billy Hull who tried to hire someone to kill his wife, got prosecuted for tax evasion, and did time in prison.

'Billy Hull was the original owner and was responsible for the overall concept of the home.'

He added: 'My friend and I had gotten a tip about a place that was going downhill fast. They called it the Tiki House - for years and years it sat, in pristine decay.

'Very recently it had begun to see an influx of school kids who were really doing some damage to the place; breaking mirrors, windows, spray painting.'

He said they wanted to take photographs before it was ruined by graffiti and vandalism.

Considering the house has been neglected for 44 years, it is not in a bad state, but the vandalism has been getting markedly worse in recent years

It would have cost a considerable sum of money to build in 1972 and it is not known why the house was not sold, rather than falling into disrepair, after its notorious owner was jailed

The Tiki Palace has fallen into disrepair and has been vandalized in recent years by local youths. The property has three bedrooms, all of which are connected to the swimming pool by tunnels

Mr Fletcher said: 'The place is unique but the damage was disappointing. It's like finding a lost pharaoh's tomb to find it's been pillaged, all the treasure removed.

'The architecture and story are amazing. The pool is the focus of the entire house, you walk into the main entrance and you're nearly in the pool.

'The pool has two bridges over two little outlets that lead out of the main pool area which go under glass. The outlets lead up into separate bedrooms.

'There are a few bedrooms, a bathroom with opposing pink toilets, flanked by a sunken stone shower. Most of the house, however, is focused on the pool which takes up most of the square footage.'

It is not known what sort of debauchery went on in the mansion but Hull is known to have owned several strip clubs, including Billy Hull's Castaways Club in Chattanooga.