Marie Russak (October 7, 1865 – March 4, 1945), also known as Marie Hotchener or Marie Barnard, was an American opera singer and architect.

Biography

Born on October 7, 1865, in the small city of Four Corners, Butte County in northern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, she studied music at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

. She became a renowned singer, performing in several European cities. In 1899, she married the opera producer Frank Russak and moved to Paris, France with him in 1901. She was deeply interested in

Theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

and became active in the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...

. Between 1906 and 1910 she lived in

Adyar (Chennai) Adyar is a large neighbourhood in south Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is among the most upscale neighborhoods of the city. It is located on the southern banks of the Adyar River. It is surrounded by the Tharamani to the West, Tiruvanmiyur, T ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where she deepened her study of

esoterism Esotericism may refer to: *Eastern esotericism, a broad range of religious beliefs and practices originating from the Eastern world, characterized by esoteric, secretive, or occult elements *Western esotericism Western esotericism, also known ...

and Theosophy. She participated actively in Co-Masonry, and in 1912 she co-founded the Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross with

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

. She worked actively with the

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism () is a spirituality, spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new Western esotericism, esoteric order. Rosicruc ...

s until the group was dissolved in 1918. Soon after leaving India in 1912, Marie helped to found the Krotona Colony. She held a substantial role in building

Krotona Krotona was one of three important Theosophical centers in the United States during the early part of the 20th century. Originally built in Hollywood during 1912, the colony was eventually relocated to Ojai, California, in 1926, where it opera ...

and designed a number of houses for Theosophists including a well known house at 6106 Temple Hill Drive. Russak continued to work in the

and was contacted in

Harvey Spencer Lewis Harvey Spencer Lewis (November 25, 1883 – August 2, 1939) was an American Rosicrucianism, Rosicrucian writer, mysticism, mystic and the founder of AMORC. He led AMORC as its first leader (imperator) from its creation in 1915 until his death. ...

, who in 1915 had founded AMORC. She transmitted much of the esoteric knowledge that she had acquired, and she collaborated with the elaboration of some rituals, which were similar to those made of the OTRC. Marie Russak was also involved in architectural design, and her work can still be seen in

. Some of her designs were inspired by Moorish and Mission styles. One of her buildings, Moorcrest (probably completed in 1921) was rented by

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

before its sale in 1925 to the parents of

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

, Mr. and Mrs. Otto Langhanke. Moorcrest fell into a state of decrepitude and rapidly lost market value throughout the 1990s. The house was finally bought in the early 2000s and the new owner put it under major renovations. Moorcrest went back on the market for $9 million in 2006. In 2014 it was bought by

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. After recording and self-releasing two EPs in 2002, Newsom signed to the independent label Drag City (record label), Drag City. Her debut album, ''The Milk-Eyed ...

and Andy Samberg. Newsom's as-yet-unreleased song "Marie at the Mill" is about Marie Russak. Marie Russak was born Mary Ellen Barnard, the daughter of Judge Allyn Matther Barnard of California; she later took the stage name of Marie Ellene Barna. She married first, professor, author and later Pulitzer Prize winner Justin Harvey Smith on May 22, 1892, in Boston, Massachusetts; they divorced in 1895. She married second, Frank Russak on September 19, 1899, in Newport, New York; he died in 1918. She married third, Henry Hotchener on 10 Jul 1916 in Los Angeles, California.California County Birth, Marriage and Death Records, available on Ancestry.com Russak died on March 4, 1945, in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russak, Marie 1865 births 1945 deaths American women architects Rosicrucians American Theosophists 20th-century American architects Architects from California People from Butte County, California