James Murphy (architect)

James Murphy
St. Patrick's, Norwich (1879
Born	1834 County Tipperary, Ireland
Died	1907 Cambridge, Massachusetts
Nationality	USA
Known for	Architect, partner in Keely & Murphy and James Murphy

James Murphy, FAIA, (1834–1907) was an Irish-American architect active in late-nineteenth- and early twentieth-century New England, who designed numerous Roman Catholic churches and related structures. He was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

Early life and career

Murphy was born in 1834 in County Tipperary, Ireland. In 1852, he emigrated to the United States along with his brother Michael. Soon after his arrival, he entered the Brooklyn, New York firm of Patrick C. Keely as an apprentice. Keely was already an established architect specializing in ecclesiastical design. Eventually, Murphy became a partner in the firm, operating as Keely & Murphy. Murphy would later marry Keely's sister-in-law.

Architectural practice

By the mid-1860s, the duo opened a branch office in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1875, the partnership was dissolved and Murphy established his own practice.^[1] Murphy continued to specialize in church design for the ever-growing number of Roman Catholic parishes during the late nineteenth century, particularly in the southern New England area of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

In the 1880s and 1890s, Murphy employed his nephew, Ambrose J. Murphy, who would later partner with Frank R. Hindle. Some time around 1900, Murphy established a new office in Boston, Massachusetts.

Personal life

James Murphy married Patrick Charles Keely's sister-in-law. Murphy had a brother, Michael Murphy, with whom he emigrated to America. The architect, Ambrose J. Murphy, was his nephew. Murphy died April 18, 1907 at the Holy Ghost Hospital (Cambridge, Massachusetts) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[2]

Legacy

Ambrose J. Murphy continued James Murphy's firm after 1907. He entered into partnership with Frank R. Hindle to form the firm of Murphy & Hindle, which practiced architecture in Rhode Island until the 1940s. That firm also specialized in church design.^[3]

Architectural Works

Churches by Murphy:

• St. Bridget, 455 Plymouth St., Abington, MA (1862-63)^[4]
• St. Gregory, 2223 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, MA (1864) - Demolished.^[5]
• St. Mary, 540 Broadway, Providence, RI (1864-1901)^[6]
• St. Mary, 134 Norfolk St., Cambridge, MA (1866-68, Keely & Murphy)^[7]
• St. John, 72 S. Main St., Concord, NH (1867, Keely & Murphy)^[8]
• St. Mary, 669 West Ave., Norwalk, CT (1867-70)^[9]
• Immaculate Conception, 11 Prospect St., Marlborough, MA (1868-71)^[10]
• St. Michael, Prairie Ave. & Oxford St., Providence, RI (1868) - Demolished.^[11]
• Our Lady of Mercy, 500 Main St., East Greenwich, RI (1869-70) - Demolished.^[12]
• St. Bernard, 240 Water St., Fitchburg, MA (1869)^[13]
• St. Joseph, 264 Washington St., Somerville, MA (1870-74)^[14]
• St. Mary, 5 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, CT (1870)^[15]
• St. Patrick, 7 East St., Whitinsville, MA (1870) - Demolished.^[16]
• Holy Trinity, 133 Main St., Greenfield, MA (1871)^[17]
• St. John, 17 Chestnut St., Peabody, MA (1871-79)^[18]
• St. John, 352 Atwells Ave., Providence, RI (1871-75) - Demolished 1992.^[19][20]
• St. John, 63 Church St., Slatersville, RI (1872)^[21]
• Our Lady Help of Christians, 573 Washington St., Newton, MA (1873-75)^[22]
• St. John, 279 Atlantic St., Stamford, CT (1873-75)^[23]
• St. Patrick, 213 Broadway, Norwich, CT (1873-79) - Cathedral status in 1952.^[24]
• Sacred Heart of Jesus, 166 Cross St., Gardner, MA (1874-75) - Burned 1887.^[25]
• Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur, 222 E. Main St., North Adams, MA (1875)^[26]
• St. Joseph, 115 Union St., Lynn, MA (1875-85)^[27]
• St. Mary, 90 7th St., Turners Falls, MA (1878-92)^[28]
• St. Patrick, Main & Park Sts., Williamstown, MA (1880-89) - Demolished.^[29]
• St. Francis, 318 Church St., Naugatuck, CT (1881-90)^[30]
• St. Mary, 30 Bartlett St., Westfield, MA (1881-85)^[31]
• St. Thomas, 2 E. Main St., Huntington, MA (1881)^[32]
• St. Mary, 239 Greenwood Ave., Bethel, CT (1882-83)
• St. Louis, 440 Bradford Ave., Fall River, MA (1885) - Demolished 2010.^[33]
• St. Mary, 103 Pine St., Pawtucket, RI (1885)^[34]
• Holy Rosary, Mosher & West Sts., Holyoke, MA (1888) - Demolished.^[35]
• Sacred Heart, 387 Chestnut St., Springfield, MA (1888-96)^[36]
• Holy Trinity, 134 Fuller Ave., Central Falls, RI (1889-91) - Demolished.^[37]
• St. Edward, 997 Branch Ave., Wanskuck, RI (1889)^[38]
• St. Margaret, 1098 Pawtucket Ave., Rumford, RI (1889) - Burned 1988.^[39]
• St. Patrick, 170 Thompson St., Bridgeport, CT (1889) - Completed by Dwyer & McMahon in 1910.^[40]
• St. Patrick, 220 Bates St., Lewiston, ME (1890-1900)^[41]
• St. Edward, 458 Main St., Medfield, MA (1892) - Demolished.^[42]
• St. Patrick, 46 E. Central St., Natick, MA (1892)^[43]
• Holy Name, 99 Camp St., Providence, RI (1896-1900)^[44]
• St. Mary, 17 Waterville St., North Grafton, MA (1896) - Burned 1948.^[45]
• St. Thomas, Columbia St., Adams, MA (1896-97)^[46]
• St. Peter, 16 Russell St., Great Barrington, MA (1902-11)^[47]

Other buildings:

• St. John Rectory, 63 Church St., Slatersville, RI (1872)^[48]
• St. Michael Hall and School, 260 State St., Springfield, MA (1881) - Demolished.^[49]
• St. Bernard Rectory, 240 Water St., Fitchburg, MA (1883)^[50]
• Tyler School, Plain & Maple Sts., Providence, RI (1898) - The cathedral school. Demolished.^[51]

See also

• Patrick W. Ford A contemporary church architect.

References