of flower blossoms, similar but all slightly different. The turret was supported from below by an ornate stone post. Dark ornately carved wood columns enclosed the porch at the entrance to the house. Lastly, a steep, dark slate mansard roof with ornate iron cresting completed the peaks in a traditional detail of the day. Restoration On March 25, 2015, the Detroit Free Press announced that Nicole Curtis would be restoring the home on her TV series, Rehab Addict. Curtis spoke of the project saying "The energy here [Detroit] is unreal and it's unmatched anywhere else. For doing what I do, to be in a city that's excited for us to be here and not fighting us? It's a huge thing." Work on the house began in the summer of 2015. Curtis led the renovation of the 1876-built mansion for an eight-part HGTV series sponsored by Quicken Loans, the mortgage lender founded by local billionaire Dan Gilbert. The series originally aired in November 2015. Gillis' life and work Ransom Gillis was born December 20, 1838, in Washington County, New York to Alexander Ransom and Jane (Wilson). One of eight children, Ransom attended public schools and the Argyle Academy. He relocated to Detroit in 1864 and found work at the Allen-Sheldon Dry Goods Company. He worked there until 1872 when he founded Edson, Moore & Company with colleagues James L. Edson and George F. Moore. Gillis operated as the "buyer of the house". Edson, Moore & Company ultimately grew to span 194 through 204 Jefferson Avenue with an area of 125 x 120 feet. They featured wholesale dry goods such as Irish and Scottish linens, hosiery and gloves from Saxony, goods from Europe and from American mills. In December 1893, the massive store on Jefferson was gutted by a fire that was estimated at doing $750,000 in damage. Seven employees died in the fire, including two who were forced to jump from the fifth floor of the burning building. In November 1913, the firm relocated to a storefront at 494-514 Fort Street in Detroit. They advertised the new location as being at the north-east corner of Fort Street and M.C.R.R. (Michigan Central Rail Road). Gillis married Helen A. Gaylord in 1870 and together they had three children: Ransom Fay, Gaylord Wilson, and Grace M. Ransom Fay was born on November 3, 1871. He attended Yale University in 1894 and 1895. Grace M.