Background
James Cornelius Murphy was born in 1864 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States.
James Cornelius Murphy was born in 1864 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States.
He acquired an early training in architecture while a student at the University of Louisville.
He was associated with his brother from 1881 until the latter's decease in 1933, subsequently took several members of the drafting staff into partnership under the firm name of D. X. Murphy & Brothers, Inc.
In his work James Murphy devoted much of his time to designing ecclesiastical and institutional buildings for the Catholic Church. Noted examples of his work in that field include St. Anthony’s Hospital in Louisville, 1901; St. Francis Hospital, Beach Grove, Ind., 1912; St. Margaret's Hospital, Hammond, Ind., 1924; the Parish Church of St. Agnes, and St. Mary's Hospital in Emporia, Kans 1927; St. Joseph’s Hospital at Memphis, Tenn., 1925; St. Elizabeths Hospital, Lincoln, Neb., 1926; St. Francis' Hospital, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1929, and at Louisville, St. Joseph's and the Norton Memorial Hospital, two of the largest in the city.
A former member and president of the old Louisville Chapter, Mr. Murphy was elected to the Kentucky Chapter, A. I. A. in 1902. Also prominent in civic affairs, he was a leader in the City Planing movement, served as Chairman of the Planning Commission, and worked with the Commission after its organization until 1934, when he retired from practice.