File:James S. Greey House, Buffalo, New York - 20220426.jpg

English: The James S. Greey House, 768 Richmond Avenue at Potomac Avenue, Buffalo, New York, April 2022. Built in 1906 to a design by the prolific local firm of Esenwein & Johnson, the Classical detailing on this splendid two-and-a-half-story Colonial Revival manse is subtle at first glass, but reveals itself exquisitely on closer inspection. The side gables of the roof sport Greek-inspired soffit returns, the trio of dormers piercing it on the façade are topped similarly with broken pediments and contain segmentally-arched, keystone studded eight-over-eight sash windows, while the front entrance is flanked by a pair of sidelights and contained within a central portico sporting Doric pilasters and a fine balustrade. Most unusual, however, is the brick chimney stack on the south side elevation: exposed on the first floor, then subsumed within a projecting portion of the second floor (and flanked within the gable by a broken fanlight) before protruding once again above the roof. This was the longtime home of Canadian-born druggist James Samuel Greey (1864-1955), who came to Buffalo just after graduating from the Ontario College of Pharmacy. In addition to opening a series of drugstores on the West Side, Greey is also notable as a co-founder and the treasurer of the Ellicott Drug Company, a cooperatively run pharmaceutical wholesaler. He lived in the house until his death at the age of 90, by which time he was Buffalo's oldest practicing pharmacist.