The Whitney, Detroit

The David Whitney House is located at 4421 Woodward Avenue in Detroit. The building was constructed as a private residence, but is open to the public as The Whitney Restaurant. It was built during the period of 1890-94 by the famous lumber baron David Whitney Jr., who was considered not only one of Detroit’s wealthiest personalities, but also one of Michigan's wealthiest citizens.

The house is constructed using rose-pink South Dakota Jasper stone. It is measured to be 21,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) and has 52 rooms (including 10 bathrooms), 218 windows, 20 fireplaces, and a secret vault in the dining room, an elevator, and numerous Tiffany glass windows.

Dating back to the renovations in the mid-1980, 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 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 the mystery of the Whitney mansion.