The James Murphy House, located at 5450 John R Street, is a Colonial Revival–style residence designed by architect F. E. Carleton and built by Henry Carew. The asymmetrical, rectangular, two-and-one-half-story brick house features a flanking gable roof and displays characteristic Colonial Revival details, including quoins, keystones set into the window heads, shallow barrel-roofed dormers, lunette windows in the end gables, and a modillion cornice. A modern vestibule has been added at the main entrance, and the original two-level side porch has been enclosed with glass block.

Michael J. Murphy, president of the Murphy Chair Company, purchased the property in 1909 from D. M. Ferry Jr., although it was his brother, James Murphy, treasurer of the company, who resided in the house. The Murphy estate sold the property to Violet T. Lewis in the 1940s. It was here that Lewis founded the Lewis Business School, dedicated to the training and education of African Americans. Today, the Samuel A. Sloman House and James Murphy House are part of the College for Creative Studies.