Charles Murphy (architect)


Charles Francis Murphy was an American architect based in Chicago, Illinois.

Biography

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Murphy was educated at the De [La Salle Institute] in Chicago. His first job was as a secretary, joining the offices of D.H. Burnham & Company in 1911 and he was steadily promoted to become personal secretary to the architect Ernest Graham.
After Graham died in 1936, Murphy moved on to co-found the architectural practice Shaw, Naess & Murphy with Alfred P. Shaw and Sigurd E. Naess. Murphy had no formal training as an architect at the time. He was next part of Naess & Murphy. The practice was later renamed C. F. Murphy Associates and later Murphy/Jahn Inc. in 1983 when Helmut Jahn took over as president.
Murphy was awarded an honorary degree from St. [Xavier University] in 1961, and became a fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1964.

Selected buildings