61-527: The David Whitney House is a historic mansion located at 4421 Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit , Michigan. The building was constructed during the 1890s as a private residence. It was restored in 1986 and is now a restaurant. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The house was built between 1890 and 1894 by a prominent lumber baron , David Whitney Jr., who
122-454: A "manshon" ( Japanese : マンション ), stemming from the English word "mansion", is used to refer to a multi-unit apartment complex or condominium . In Europe, from the 15th century onwards, a combination of politics and advances in weaponry negated the need for the aristocracy to live in fortified castles. As a result, many were transformed into mansions without defences or demolished and rebuilt in
183-517: A Flash Forward Award. From 2000 to 2005, SciFi.com published original science fiction short stories in a section called " Sci Fiction ", edited by Ellen Datlow , who won a 2005 Hugo Award for her work there. The stories themselves won a World Fantasy Award , the first Theodore Sturgeon Award for online fiction (for Lucius Shepard 's novella "Over Yonder"), and four of the Science Fiction Writers of America 's Nebula Awards , including
244-492: A Roman or medieval villa ). Manor comes from the same root—territorial holdings granted to a lord who would "remain" there. Following the fall of Rome, the practice of building unfortified villas ceased. Today, the oldest inhabited mansions around the world usually began their existence as fortified houses in the Middle Ages . As social conditions slowly changed and stabilised fortifications were able to be reduced, and over
305-572: A countryside estate in the U.S. was demolished in 1980, along with its extensive gardens, to make way for suburban developments. In Paris, London or Rome , many large mansions and palazzi built or remodeled during the era still survive. Grand Federal style mansions designed by Samuel McIntire inhabit an area that, in 2012, is the largest collection of 17th- and 18th-century structures in the United States of America. This district in Salem, Massachusetts ,
366-496: A function hall (named for Alexander Hamilton) and a church for the town's merchant class. McIntire also designed the former Salem Court House and Registry of Deeds. After 1793, Samuel McIntire worked exclusively in the architectural style developed by Robert Adam in Great Britain and brought to America by the great Boston architect, Charles Bulfinch. The delicate Adam style , which emphasized decorative elements and ornamentation,
427-476: A lumber baron. He moved to Detroit from Lowell (where he had established himself as a lumber baron) in 1857, at the young age of twenty-seven. Starting a joint venture with his brother Charles, he continued to expand his vastly successful lumber business into Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Upon arriving in Detroit, he surrounded himself by the community's wealthiest and most respectable families. Whitney soon earned
488-610: A massive stained glass window portraying a knight, paying homage to the various members of the Whitney family who were knighted, as well as their relationship to the royal blood line in England. The house was the first residence in Detroit to have a functioning elevator for personal use. David Whitney Jr. was born in 1830 in Watertown, Massachusetts . Whitney made his millions in Massachusetts as
549-692: A more modern, undefended style. Due to intermarriage and primogeniture inheritance amongst the aristocracy, it became common for one noble to often own several country houses . These would be visited rotationally throughout the year as their owner pursued the social and sporting circuit from country home to country home. Many owners of a country house would also own a town mansion in their country's capital city. These town mansions were referred to as 'houses' in London, ' hôtels particuliers ' in Paris, and 'palaces' in most European cities elsewhere. It might be noted that sometimes
610-637: A number of homes for Derby and members of his extended family. McIntire also worked occasionally on Derby's vessels, and would fix a wagon or build a birdhouse if his patron desired. Hamilton Hall is a National Historic Landmark at 9 Chestnut Street in Salem, Massachusetts . Hamilton Hall was built in 1805 by Samuel McIntire and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. "King" Derby's stamp of approval opened many other doors for McIntire, who went on to design and build mansions for John Gardner, Jerethmiel Peirce, Simon Forrester, and other wealthy Salem shipowners. He also built on Chestnut Street
671-444: A secret vault in the dining room, an elevator, and numerous Tiffany glass windows. The Tiffany glass windows have been estimated to be worth more than the house itself. The window designs often feature themes oriented around the purpose of the rooms they are located in. For example, the music room's windows are themed towards elements of music as well as images of Saint Cecilia , the patron saint of music. The grand staircase features
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#1732845172477732-443: A subsidiary of Vivendi SA (at the time known as Vivendi Universal). Vivendi's film and television production and cable television assets were then merged with General Electric 's NBC to form NBC Universal in 2004. In 2009 the network was rebranded as Syfy , and in 2010 Comcast purchased Syfy's parent company NBCUniversal . Comcast was one of the original cable TV operators to carry the channel. A high definition version of
793-508: Is a copy of Wollaton Hall . Other mansions were built in the new and innovative styles of the new era such as the arts and crafts style: The Breakers is a pastiche of an Italian Renaissance palazzo ; Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire is a mixture of various French châteaux . One of the most enduring and most frequently copied styles for a mansion is the Palladian – particularly so in
854-802: Is an American basic cable television channel , owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division and business segment of Comcast 's NBCUniversal . Launched on September 24, 1992, the channel broadcasts programming relating to the science fiction , horror , and fantasy genres. As of November 2023 , Syfy is available to approximately 69,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2011 peak of 99,000,000 households. In 1989, in Boca Raton, Florida , communications attorneys and cable TV entrepreneurs Mitchell Rubenstein and his wife and business partner Laurie Silvers devised
915-532: Is an example of American Renaissance revivalism. During the 19th century, along with other streets in major cities, Fifth Avenue in New York City had many mansions. Many of these were designed by the leading architects of the day, often in European Gothic Revival style , and were built by families who were making their fortunes. However, nearly all of these have now been demolished. Whitemarsh Hall ,
976-476: Is called the McIntire Historic District with the center being Chestnut Street. McIntire's training came from his father and from books. He and his brothers, Joseph and Angler, began their careers as housewrights and carpenters while in their teens but, early on, Samuel's work caught the eye of Salem's pre-eminent merchant, Elias Hasket Derby. Over the next quarter century, McIntire built or remodelled
1037-560: The Ancien Régime . Until World War I it was not unusual for a moderately sized mansion in England such as Cliveden to have an indoor staff of 20 and an outside staff of the same size, and in ducal mansions such as Chatsworth House the numbers could be far higher. In the great houses of Italy, the number of retainers was often even greater than in England; whole families plus extended relations would often inhabit warrens of rooms in basements and attics. Most European mansions were also
1098-529: The Mediterranean old world, whereas where estates were founded in the sparsely populated remote areas like the Pampa of Argentina or Uruguay, where iron pillars, doors, windows, and furniture had to be brought from Europe by ship and afterwards ox cart, buildings were smaller, but normally still aspiring to evoke a stately impression, often featuring, like their earlier Italian counterparts, a morador . In Venezuela,
1159-518: The Travel Channel in 2018. Mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house . The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word mansio "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb manere "to dwell". The English word manse originally defined a property large enough for the parish priest to maintain himself, but a mansion is no longer self-sustaining in this way (compare
1220-575: The 18th century. However, the Gothic style was probably the most popular choice of design in the 19th century. The most bizarre example of this was probably Fonthill Abbey which actually set out to imitate the mansions which had truly evolved from medieval Gothic abbeys following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. Mansions built during and after the 19th century were not supported by
1281-546: The DAC's grounds is now under the possession of Wayne State University. Included among the elite members of the original DAC were Whitney and his son David C. Whitney. This influenced his choice for the location of the Whitney House, as it overlooked the grounds of the DAC. The Whitney mansion was built between 1890 and 1894, and estimated to have cost approximately $ 400,000. After Whitney's death in 1900, his family continued to reside in
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#17328451724771342-459: The News section of SyfyGames.com was rebranded to feature "news from G4 ". In 2010, Syfy Games signed a deal with the now defunct publisher THQ to co-produce De Blob 2 . Syfy Games would also co-produce Red Faction: Armageddon . Syfy Wire (formerly Sci-Fi Wire and Blastr ) is a website operated by Syfy featuring coverage of news in the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres. The site
1403-541: The URL ;– and the site's name – was changed to Syfy.com . As of 2010, Syfy.com began to contain webisode series including Riese: Kingdom Falling (as of October 26, 2010), The Mercury Men (as of July 25, 2011), and Nuclear Family (as of October 15, 2012). SyfyGames.com is an online games portal which offers free-to-play MMO and casual games. The site features predominantly sci-fi and fantasy games from third-party developers. In April 2015,
1464-429: The centuries gave way to comfort. It became fashionable and possible for homes to be beautiful rather than grim and forbidding allowing for the development of the modern mansion. In British English, a mansion block refers to a block of flats or apartments designed for the appearance of grandeur. In many parts of Asia, including Hong Kong and Japan, the word mansion also refers to a block of apartments. In modern Japan,
1525-537: The channel has expanded into general-interest programming outside of the sci-fi genre to target a more mainstream audience. Such programming has included crime dramas, WCG Ultimate Gamer , and professional wrestling from WWE (including ECW , NXT , and SmackDown ). Syfy has been used for overflow sports and sports entertainment programming from its sister networks. It has participated in NBC Sports ' " Championship Sunday " effort to broadcast all matches on
1586-493: The channel launched a weekly two-hour programming block called "Ani-Monday", featuring English dubs of various anime series licensed by Manga Entertainment . During February 2008, the channel also aired anime on Tuesday nights in a second programming block. In July 2009, Syfy announced that they had renewed and expanded their licensing agreement with Manga Entertainment to add a two-hour block of horror anime (also called "Ani-Monday") to sister channel Chiller . Syfy's anime block
1647-490: The channel launched on October 3, 2007, on DirecTV . In 2013, Syfy was given the James Randi Educational Foundation 's Pigasus Award for what was described as questionable reality programming involving paranormal subjects. From 1992 to 1999, the network's first logo consisted of a planet with a ring, made to look like Saturn , with "SCI-FI CHANNEL" written on it. The network's second logo, which
1708-564: The channels did not take on "Syfy" as any part of their names: channels in Japan and the Philippines rebranded to or were replaced by Universal Channel , while each of the channels in Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia would become Sci Fi Universal. In Polish , "Syfy" does not suggest imagination or science fiction, but rather something gross, without value or even syphilis . In Australia, NBCUniversal
1769-609: The concept for the Sci-Fi Channel , and signed up 8 of the top 10 cable TV operators as well as licensing exclusive rights to the British TV series Doctor Who (which shifted over from PBS to Sci-Fi Channel), Dark Shadows , and the cult series The Prisoner . In 1992, the channel was sold by Rubenstein and Silvers to USA Networks , then a joint venture between Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures . Rubenstein and Silvers became vice-chairs of USA Networks. The channel
1830-522: The elevator. There are reports of the elevator moving on its own between the floors without any passengers. Other unexplained apparitions have been reported on the second and third floors. One evening at closing, a staff member witnessed an older gentleman gazing out of the second floor dining room window; when he was asked to leave, the figure simply vanished into the floor. Reports by the mansion's staff members of sounds of utensils being stacked and table settings being moved all on their own, have only added to
1891-520: The fantasy and sci-fi genres. Network head Chris McCumber explained that the network's goal was to "put fans at the center of everything we do", and explained a stacked, square-shaped form of the logo as being akin to a "badge". Syfy also planned to place a larger focus on its genre news division Syfy Wire, disclosing the possibility of extending the website to television as well. Syfy's original programming includes made-for-cable movies , miniseries , and television series . Under NBCUniversal ownership,
David Whitney House - Misplaced Pages Continue
1952-501: The final matchday of the Premier League soccer season across NBCUniversal cable networks. In February 2022, WWE Raw and NXT aired on Syfy for two weeks due to USA Network's broadcasts of the 2022 Winter Olympics ; this was repeated during the 2024 Summer Olympics . During its early years, Syfy aired anime films and original video animations on early Saturday morning under the title of Saturday Anime . On June 11, 2007,
2013-607: The final season of Colony , as well as The Fandom Files , which features interviews with public figures about their pop culture obsessions. Guests have included Leland Chee and Mike Daniels of the Green Bay Packers . Sci Fi magazine was first published in June 1994, as Sci-Fi Entertainment , with the additional description "The Official Magazine of the Sci-Fi Channel" on the cover. The publisher from Volume 1, Issue 1,
2074-430: The first for original online fiction (for Linda Nagata 's novella "Goddesses"). On April 22, 2006, the site launched Sci Fi Pedia, a commercial wiki on topics including anime , comics , fandom , fantasy , games , horror , science fiction , toys , UFOs , genre-related art and audio , and the paranormal . In 2009, Sci Fi Pedia was shut down without explanation. As part of the channel's rebranding in 2009,
2135-448: The ground and uppermost attic floors. This was a period of great social change, as the educated prided themselves on enlightenment. The uses of these edifices paralleled that of the Roman villas . It was vital for powerful people and families to keep in social contact with each other as they were the primary moulders of society. The rounds of visits and entertainments were an essential part of
2196-791: The house of a clergyman was called a "mansion house" (e.g., by the Revd. James Blair, Commissary in Virginia for the Bishop of London, 1689–1745, a term related to the word "manse" commonly used in the Church of Scotland and in Non-Conformist churches. H.G. Herklots, The Church of England and the American Episcopal Church). As the 16th century progressed and the Renaissance style slowly spread across Europe,
2257-565: The hub of vast estates . The 19th century saw the continuation of the building of mansions in the United States and Europe. These mansions were often smaller than those built by the old European aristocracy. The new builders of mansions at the time explored new styles other than the Gothic tastes in architecture which were used often. They experimented with 19th-century versions of older Renaissance and Tudoresque styles; The Breakers in Rhode Island
2318-609: The imagination. Identification bumps depicted surreal situations such as a baby breathing fire, as well as a woman in a stately sitting room kissing a bug-eyed, big-eared animal. On March 16, 2009, NBCUniversal announced that Sci Fi was rebranding as "Syfy". Network officials also noted that, unlike the generic term "sci fi", which represents the entire genre , the term "Syfy" as a sensational spelling can be protected by trademark and therefore would be easier to market on other goods or services without fear of confusion with other companies' products. The only significant previous use of
2379-639: The large estates of their predecessors. These new mansions were often built as the week-end retreats of businessmen who commuted to their offices by the new railways, which enabled them to leave the city more easily. In Latin America, the grand rural estate , the Hacienda , Estancia, in Portuguese speaking Brazil Fazenda or Estância, with the mansion as its stately center, is a characteristic feature. Mansions tended to follow European architectural styles . Whereas until
2440-525: The last vestiges of castle architecture and life changed; the central points of these great houses became redundant as owners wished to live separately from their servants, and no longer ate with them in a Great hall. All evidence and odours of cooking and staff were banished from the principal parts of the house into distant wings, while the owners began to live in airy rooms, above the ground floor, with privacy from their servants, who were now confined, unless required, to their specifically delegated areas—often
2501-529: The mansion until 1920. It was converted into an upscale restaurant in 1986. Today, many of the members of the Whitney family reside in the Grosse Pointe area. In 1957, the Visiting nurse association purchased the house for $ 150,000. In 1979, the house was sold to Detroit-based real estate magnet Richard Kughn, who in 2007 sold it to former Chrysler executive, Bud Liebler, for more than $ 2 million. Dating back to
David Whitney House - Misplaced Pages Continue
2562-558: The mystery of the Whitney mansion. The David Whitney House was featured in SYFY channel's paranormal TV series Ghost Hunters in 2016 where the TAPS team investigated reported activity inside and outside the property. The house, called the Whitney Mansion, was featured as one of the haunted locations on Most Terrifying Places in America on the episode titled "Restless Dead" which aired on
2623-665: The name change. The parody news anchor Stephen Colbert made fun of the name change on The Colbert Report by giving the channel a "Tip of the Hat" for "spelling the name the way it's pronounced" and noting that "the tide is turning in my long fought battle against the insidious 'soft C ' ". The new name took effect on July 7, 2009. Syfy has since added reality shows and edged further from strictly science fiction, fantasy and horror programming. The rebranding efforts at NBC Universal's Sci Fi Channels worldwide resulted in most rebranding as "Syfy" or "Syfy Universal"; however, over one-third of
2684-676: The network was the film Star Wars . In 1994, Paramount was sold to Viacom , followed by Seagram 's purchase of a controlling stake in MCA (of which Universal was a subsidiary) from the Matsushita Electric Industrial Company the next year. In 1997, Viacom sold its stake in USA Networks to Universal, who spun off all its television assets to Barry Diller the next year into the new company Studios USA . Three years later, Diller would sell Studios USA back to Universal, by then
2745-464: The nickname of "Mr. Woodward Avenue", due to his keen interest in real estate around the Detroit area. Whitney was always fascinated by the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC). Ever since the DAC's establishment in 1887, it has been revered as "one of the finest private clubs in the country, an elite organization deeply committed to upholding the traditions and elegance of its glorious pasts". Part of
2806-414: The renovations in the mid-1980s, there have been rumored occurrences of supernatural activities on all three floors of the Whitney house. The causes of these events have been linked to the story of David Whitney Jr. and his wife both dying inside the mansion. To this day, some people believe that the ghost of David Whitney Jr. haunts the Whitney mansion. One of the most haunted areas in the house appears to be
2867-419: The second half of the 19th century, Portugal and Spain as the colonial (or former colonial) powers were the eminent models for architecture and upper-class lifestyle, towards the end of the 19th century they were sometimes replaced by then more dominant powers like France or England. In comparably developed, densely populated countries like Mexico, feudal estates and their mansions were as grand and stately as in
2928-457: The societal process, as described in the novels of Jane Austen . State business was often discussed and determined in informal settings. Times of revolution reversed this value. During July/August 1789, a significant number of French country mansions ( chateaux ) were destroyed by the rural population as part of the Great Fear —a symbolic rejection of the feudal rights and restraints in effect under
2989-523: The term "Syfy" in relation to science fiction was by the website SyFy Portal, which became Airlock Alpha after selling the brand to an unnamed company in February 2009. It rebranded just after Starz 's logo, even though Syfy came before Starz by Lionsgate . The name change was greeted with initial negativity, with people deliberately mispronouncing "Syfy" as / ˈ s ɪ f i / SIF -ee or / ˈ s iː f i / SEE -fee to make fun of
3050-541: The time the channel finally launched on September 24, 1992. Rubenstein recalled: "The first thing that was on the screen was 'Dedicated to the memories of Isaac Asimov and Gene Roddenberry'." Leonard Nimoy was master of ceremonies at the channel's launch party, held at the Hayden Planetarium in Manhattan . Asimov's widow Janet and Roddenberry's widow Majel Barrett were both in attendance. The first program shown on
3111-564: The traditional Spanish mansions with a garden in the center of the property are usually referred as " Quinta ". Some realtors in the US term mansions as houses that have a minimum of 8,000-square-foot (740 m ) of floor space. Others claim a viable minimum could instead be 5,000-square-foot (460 m ) of floor space, especially in a city environment. SYFY Syfy (a paraphrased neology of former name Sci-Fi Channel , later shortened to Sci Fi ; stylized as SYFY in all caps since 2017)
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#17328451724773172-568: Was Mark Hintz, with Carl A. Gnam Jr. as editorial director and Ted Klein as editor. Scott Edelman took over as editor with the December 1996 issue, holding that position until leaving after the June 2000 issue, by which point the magazine's name had already been shortened to Sci Fi , in keeping with the channel's name change to Sci Fi in 1999; Scott Edelman returned to be editor of the channel's online magazine, Science Fiction Weekly , moving back to editor of Sci Fi in February 2002. The magazine
3233-467: Was a partner in SF alongside Foxtel , CBS Studios International and Sony Pictures Television ; after the channel shut down in 2013, NBCUniversal launched a local version of Syfy in 2014. On May 11, 2017, in honor of the network's upcoming 25th anniversary, Syfy unveiled a major rebranding that took effect on-air June 19. The new branding was intended to re-position the channel back towards targeting fans of
3294-441: Was considered not only one of Detroit's wealthiest personalities, but also one of Michigan's wealthiest citizens. The house is estimated to have cost US$ 400,000 (equal to $ 14,086,154 today), and it was featured in several newspapers of that time. The exterior is constructed using pink jasper from South Dakota. It is measured to be 21,000 square feet (2,000 m) and has 52 rooms (including 10 bathrooms), 218 windows, 20 fireplaces,
3355-412: Was later moved to Thursday nights, starting March 14, 2011, where it remained until all anime programming was dropped on June 9, 2011. On April 20, 2019, Syfy launched a new late night adult animation block called TZGZ which aired until March 13, 2021. Sci Fi Pictures original films are independently-made B-movies with production budgets of $ 1 million to $ 2 million each. The initiative
3416-574: Was preferred for McIntire, who was efficient in design and proportions and had skill as a woodcarver. Swags, rosettes, garlands, and his signature sheaths of wheat were carved in wood surfaces in McIntire homes built between 1793 and his death in 1811. In Europe, some 19th-century mansions were often built as replicas of older houses; the Château de Ferrières in France was inspired by Mentmore Towers , which in turn
3477-764: Was published by Sovereign Media Co, based in Herndon, Virginia . As of October 2023, the magazine is still described at the Sovereign Media website, but the link to the publication is no longer active there, and no link is available at the Syfy.com site; the last functioning archived link from the Syfy.com page is for the issue available in October 2014. Science Fiction Weekly was an online magazine started on August 15, 1995, and edited by Craig Engler and Brooks Peck. In April 1996, it began appearing exclusively on "The Dominion" as part of
3538-464: Was rebranded in 2010 as Blastr, with the addition of feature articles, guest columnists (such as Phil Plait ), popular science news and coverage, and video content. In December 2016, Blastr rebranded as Syfy Wire; editor-in-chief Adam Swiderski stated that this change was to closer associate the website with the Syfy television channel. As of March 2018, Syfy Wire releases five regular podcasts, including two recap series following The Expanse and
3599-522: Was seen as a natural fit with classic films and television series that both studios had in their vaults, including Universal's Dracula , Frankenstein , and the Rod Serling TV series Night Gallery , along with Paramount's Star Trek television series. Star Trek ' s creator Gene Roddenberry and author Isaac Asimov were recruited by Rubenstein and Silvers to serve on the initial advisory board, but both Roddenberry and Asimov had died by
3660-465: Was spearheaded by Thomas Vitale in 2001, and was managed by Vitale, Chris Regina, and Ray Cannella, with the later additions of Karen O'Hara and Macy Lao. Syfy is also one of the sponsors for the Coalition for Freedom of Information. Syfy's website launched in 1995, under the name The Dominion (though using scifi.com in its URL); it changed to SciFi.com in 2000. The site has won a Webby Award and
3721-479: Was used from 1999 to 2002, dropped the hyphen and the word "CHANNEL" from the name. The network's third and final "ringed planet" logo ran from 2002 to 2009, and was designed by Lambie-Nairn . The logo made its debut on December 2, 2002, with the launch of the Steven Spielberg miniseries Taken . The network also launched a new image campaign with the tagline "If", which expresses the limitless possibilities of
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