Cary House, Buffalo New York
This large, 2-1/2-story French Second-Empire brick house with Gothic details was located at the southern residential end of Delaware Avenue--a broad, tree lined street with large prestigious homes of Buffalo's wealthy citizens. The house was irregular in plan, had projecting bays with wooden detailing, a mansard roof with pointed-arch dormer windows, and exterior window label moldings--all accented by a three-story octagonal entrance tower topped by an octagonal cupola with crenelated wooden parapet.
The structure burned on July 10, 1965. Until the building was vacated in May 1965 to make way for demolition, it was occupied for several years by the Normandy Restaurant. It is known that ceilings were lowered and other modifications made to adapt the residence to restaurant use. Demolished, 1966.
The son of the original owner was George Gary (d. 1945), a prominent Buffalo architect. The first Buffalo General Hospital Building, the State University of New York at Buffalo Medical School, and the Historical Society Museum are a few of the buildings designed by Gary. At the time of the fire in 1965, family records were stored in the basement of the house. Family documents, correspondence, and architectural plans were salvaged and are now in the collection of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society,
