Charles Murphy (architect)

For other people named Charles Murphy, see Charles Murphy (disambiguation).

Charles Francis Murphy (February 9, 1890 – May 22, 1985) was an American architect based in Chicago, Illinois.

Charles Murphy
Born	Charles F. Murphy February 9, 1890 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	May 22, 1985(1985-05-22) (aged 95) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Notable work	O'Hare International Airport One Prudential Plaza McCormick Place Richard J. Daley Center
Spouse	Josephine C. Murphy (b. 1901 / m. 1926 / d. Feb. 9, 1999)
Children	2

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 (1886 - 1970). 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

• Miami Herald building (1960)
• Richard J. Daley Center (1965)
• Blue Cross-Blue Shield Building (1968)
• McCormick Place, Chicago (1970) convention center rebuilt following a fire in 1967
• O'Hare Airport’s original Terminal 1, and current Terminals 2 and 3
• J. Edgar Hoover Building

External links

• Interview at the Art Institute of Chicago
• Murphy/Jahn
• Charles F Murphy death notice
• Josephine Murphy death notice
• Jahn website
• Chicago Tribune article announcing firm name change