“The Driehaus Museum, at Wabash and Erie, is proud to announce that its John B. Murphy Memorial Auditorium has received City of Chicago landmark designation. The Driehaus Museum is now comprised of two landmarked buildings – the 1926 Murphy Auditorium and the 1883 Nickerson Mansion. Following the Museum’s restoration of the historic building, it will officially reopen the Murphy Auditorium as part of its campus on June 21.
“The restoration of the historic Murphy Auditorium began in summer 2023 and included restoring the main auditorium on the ground floor to its original grandeur, enhancing it with modern lighting, and creating a leveled, unified, and accessible seating area to make it a world-class venue for music, events, and programs that support the Museum’s mission and allow it to open its doors wider to the community. The project also renewed former office space above the auditorium to create a dynamic new Learning Center with art and maker studios, new offices, seminar rooms, and an 800-square foot outdoor terrace on the top floor.
“Summer programs on the campus will be kicked off with a weekend of free admission including access to the exhibition Chicago Collects: Jewelry in Perspective from Friday at 11AM, June 21 to Sunday, June 23, also ushering in the Museum’s expanded hours and added amenities.
“According to Driehaus Executive Director Lisa Key, ‘It is thrilling for us to complete this important renovation creating a new Museum campus, offering visitors not only an incredible museum of art, architecture, and design, but now a newly rejuvenated auditorium that will add a vital and dynamic public space to the cultural campus in Chicago that will continue to increase the historical profile of this great city of architecture.’
“Key added, ‘It was museum founder, Richard H. Driehaus, who had the vision to combine these historic buildings into one museum campus. We are so happy this vision has come to fruition and now this expansion allows us to extend our work outward in the larger community.’
“’It was a huge relief to learn about the Driehaus Museum expanding its campus into the adjacent Murphy Memorial. There are not many options for finding an appropriate re-use that would respect the historic character of such a monumentally scaled historic building while at same time providing a positive impact on the surrounding neighborhood,” said Tim Samuelson, the Cultural Historian Emeritus of the City of Chicago. ‘The Driehaus Museum has been a thoughtful community partner and valuable neighborhood asset for the past twenty years, and its expansion into the Murphy makes something great even greater!’
“To become a more accessible and visible part of the community and Chicago’s cultural landscape, starting June 26, the Driehaus Museum will offer expanded hours and free admission on Wednesday evenings from 5 to 7pm. The restoration project also refreshed the Museum’s amenities including a larger coat check and renovated bathrooms. Guests to the Museum will now enter through the Murphy’s Tiffany-designed doors at 50 East Erie, and the Museum’s address will officially change to 50 East Erie.
“About the Murphy Memorial Auditorium
“Located at 50 East Erie, the six-story, 32,193-square-foot French Renaissance-style building, purchased by the Driehaus Museum in 2022, was built between 1923 and 1926 by the American College of Surgeons. Designed by noted Chicago architects Benjamin Marshall and Charles E. Fox of Marshall and Fox, the Murphy was used originally to host meetings and serve as a center for education in surgery. Its iconic exterior is Marshall’s interpretation of the double-columned, two-story façade and flanking entry staircase of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Consolation (1900) in Paris.
“The building features a pair of cast bronze doors designed by Tiffany Studios at the front entrance, comprised of six panels depicting prominent figures in the history of medicine. It also has a towering, multicolored stained-glass window inside the auditorium. It was built as a memorial to founding member John B. Murphy, MD, FACS. Dr. Murphy was regarded worldwide as the greatest clinical educator of his generation, and known for performing a life-saving surgery on President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.
“About The Driehaus Museum
“The Driehaus Museum engages and inspires the global community through exploration and ongoing conversations in art, architecture, and design of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its permanent collection and temporary exhibitions are presented in an immersive experience within the restored Nickerson Mansion, completed in 1883, at the height of the Gilded Age, and the Murphy Auditorium, built in 1926. The Museum’s collection reflects and is inspired by the collecting interests, vision, and focus of its founder, the late Richard H. Driehaus. For more information, visit driehausmuseum.org and connect with the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.” (Driehaus Museum press release, 5/23/24)
‘Each of these magnificent structures remind us of Chicago’s incredible architectural legacy and the city’s world-renowned built environment.’ said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. ‘These buildings also give us insight into the past, offering a sense of human scale and attention to detail, while displaying incredible craftsmanship. They are a visual reflection of the community’s historical development over time. The preservation of these buildings is a priceless legacy to Chicago.” (Driehaus Museum press release, 6/30/21)
Read more at DriehausMuseum.org
- Driehaus Museum Reopens John B. Murphy Memorial Auditorium, A new City of Chicago Landmark
- Driehaus Museum celebrates major milestone in expansion with beam installation, Anthony Ponce, FOX 32 Chicago, 11/1/23
- Richard H. Driehaus Museum Acquires Chicago’s Historic Murphy Memorial Auditorium, Driehaus Museum press release, 6/31/21