More from the Smithsonian website (
visit link) : "Aesculapius, Louis Pasteur, Ephraim McDowell, Joseph Lister, Sir William Osler and William Crawford Gorgas. Aesculapius stands beside the tree of knowledge. He holds a staff entwined with a serpent, the familiar symbol of healing. Pasteur is shown working in his laboratory; McDowell and Lister are depicted performing surgery; Osler is shown with students at a patient's bedside; and Gorgas, known for his work with yellow fever, is depicted with workers building the Panama Canal.
Inscription:
IN APPRECIATION/OF/DR. NORMAN BRIDGE/EMINENT PHYSICIAN/& DESTINGUISHED (sic)/1844 PHILANTHROPIST 1925/PRESENTED/BY/HIS & COMPANION/ADMIRER & BUSINESS/ASSOCIATES/EDW. L. DOHENY (Top left panel:) AESCVLALIVS (Middle left panel:) McDOWELL (Bottom left panel:) OSLER (Top right panel:) PASTEVR (Middle right panel:) LISTER (Bottom right panel:) GORGAS"
The access to the staircase leading up to the doors is limited, so my pictures had to be from a distance. This 1986 article titled "The Murphy Doors Present Six Important Contributors to Medical Science" (
visit link) offers very good closeup photos of the panels with an explanation of each of the subjects - "Aesculapius (Greek god of medicine), Louis Pasteur (French chemist and microbiologist, with significant discovery that microorganisms cause disease in man and animals, as well as fermentation in liquids), Ephraim McDowell (American surgeon who performed the first successful ovariotomy in 1809), Joseph Lister (English surgeon and baron, ushered in the modern era of antiseptic surgery), Sir William Osler (English physician and professor of medicine best remembered as a great clinician and skillful writer), and William Crawford Gorgas (a military surgeon who prevented the spread of yellow fever during the building of the Panama Canal by implementing successful methods of mosquito control.) Their lives were devoted to scientific endeavor, and their contributions to medical science paved the way for modern “medical miracles.”
In addition to these six picture panels, the Murphy doors also include two panels that contain inscriptions. The first explains that the doors were presented “In appreciation of Dr. Norman Bridge, eminent physician and distinguished philanthropist.” Dr. Bridge was also a good friend of Dr. John Benjamin Murphy.* The second inscription panel credits the presenter of the doors, Edward L. Doheny, a friend and business associate of Dr. Bridge. While the building itself stands as a memorial to Dr. Murphy, the doors were presented as a tribute to Dr. Bridge by his friend Mr. Doheny.
The bronze doors were contracted for production through the Tiffany Studios at a cost of $19,650. The studios were directed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, inventor of favrile glass and son of the founder of the famous Tiffany and Company of New York. (Louis Tiffany also fashioned the mosaic ceilings and walls of what is now the Chicago Public Library Cultural Center.) It is believed that a clay sculpture for the doors designed by Tiffany artist Charles Keck was then used by a foundry to cast the doors in bronze.
The bronze doors complement the French Renaissance architecture of the Murphy Building with an exterior of bedford stone that is said to have been inspired by the Chapel of Our Lady of Consolation in Paris. Through the years the doors have served as an eloquent testimony to past achievements. Today, as they stand reflected against the surrounding world of glass and chrome highrises, they remind us of significant discoveries that have paved the way to a future of astonishing events."
The address is 50 East Erie Street, Chicago, Illinois.
Today, "The Murphy" as the building is known is a public event space available to rent for weddings, corporate events, exhibits, and more. See (
visit link) It is adjacent to the Driehaus Museum (http://www.driehausmuseum.org/), featuring "a fascinating view of one of the few remaining examples of the palatial homes erected by the wealthy of America's Gilded Age. The galleries, elegantly furnished with period pieces selected from the Driehaus Collection, are presented in harmony with the interiors and surviving furnishings, immersing visitors in the original splendor of this late 19th-century home."