Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the largest owner of alcoholic beverage lines in the world.

Toward the end of its independent existence, it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures. Its purchase of MCA Inc., whose assets included Universal Studios and its theme parks, was financed through the sale of Seagram's 25% holding of chemical company DuPont, a position it acquired in 1981. Seagram later imploded, with its beverage assets wholesaled off to various industry titans, notably The Coca-Cola Company, Diageo, Infinium Spirits, and Pernod Ricard. Universal's television holdings were sold to media entrepreneur Barry Diller, and the balance of the Universal entertainment empire and what was Seagram was sold to French conglomerate Vivendi in 2000.

Seagram's House, the former company headquarters in Montreal, was donated to McGill University by Vivendi Universal in 2002, then renamed Martlet House. The landmarked Seagram Building, once the company's American headquarters in New York City, was commissioned by Phyllis Lambert, daughter of Seagram CEO Samuel Bronfman, and designed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with Philip Johnson. Regarded as one of the most notable examples of the functionalist aesthetic and a prominent instance of corporate modern architecture, it set the trend for the city's skyline for decades to follow, and has been featured in several Hollywood films. On completion in 1958, its costs made it the world's most expensive skyscraper. The Bronfman family sold the Seagram building to TIAA for $70.5 million in 1979.
Q1417728
traded
Concept
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conglomerate
Concept
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Montreal
LOC
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Quebec
LOC
Q56139
distiller
Concept
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Canadian whisky
Concept
Q639408
Waterloo, Ontario
LOC
Q154
alcoholic beverage
Concept
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MCA Inc.
ORG
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Universal Studios
ORG
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theme park
Concept
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DuPont
ORG
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The Coca-Cola Company
LOC
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Diageo
ORG
Q837049
Pernod Ricard
Concept
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Barry Diller
PER
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Vivendi
ORG
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McGill University
ORG
Q1127887
Vivendi Universal
ORG
Q3278882
Martlet House
LOC
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Seagram Building
LOC
Q60
New York City
LOC
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Phyllis Lambert
Concept
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Samuel Bronfman
PER
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
PER
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Philip Johnson
PER
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functionalist
Concept
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modern architecture
Concept
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TIAA
ORG
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Seagram
ORG
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Seagram
ORG
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Seagram
ORG
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Seagram
ORG
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Seagram
ORG
Q1969696
Seagram
ORG
Q1969696
Seagram
ORG
Q1969696
Seagram
ORG
1990-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1990
DATE
1981-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1981
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2000-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2000
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2002-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
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1958-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1958
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1979-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1979
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25
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70.5
NUMBER
instance of
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commissioned by
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