Los
Angeles County
Biographies
WILLIAM RAYMOND METZ
Development work in Beverly Hills
has received marked impetus from the well directed efforts of William Raymond
Metz, city engineer, an office which he has occupied for three years. Of sturdy pioneer stock, he was born in Los
Angeles, July 19, 1897, and is a son of Joseph O. and Ethel (Niedecken) Metz, the former a native of Compton,
California, and the latter of Los Angeles.
The paternal grandparents, Israel and Elizabeth Metz, came to California
in 1853, making the long and hazardous journey across the plains with ox teams
and locating in San Jose. They were
accompanied by the father and mother, Jacob and Annie Metz, who are buried in
Castroville, California. The grandfather
in the maternal line was one of the early merchants of Los Angeles and
proprietor of the Angeles Hotel at one time.
Mrs. Metz’ maternal grandfather, Tuttle, was a soldier in the Mexican
War. Joseph O. Metz was reared in Los
Angeles and supplemented his public school education by a course in Heald’s
Business College. Because of impaired
health he sought outdoor work, becoming an employee of the Southern Pacific
Railroad Company, and was engaged in contracting in Tustin, Orange County,
California, until his death in October, 1932.
William R. Metz mastered the
branches of learning taught in the public schools of Santa Ana and obtained his
higher education in the University of Southern California. The training thus acquired qualified him for
a responsible position in the engineering department of the Santa Fe Railroad,
after which he spent some time in Orange County, and then entered the employ of
the Rodeo Land and Water Company, original owners and sub-dividers of Beverly
Hills and owners of the water works plant.
He remained with that corporation until 1925, when he entered the
engineer’s office of Beverly Hills, and during five years was assistant city
engineer and in 1930 was appointed city engineer and superintendent of
streets. He has done much to develop,
improve and beautify the city. Although
thoroughly conversant with the broad scientific principles that underlie his
work, he devotes his leisure hours to study and continues to follow the
advanced courses of his profession in the University of Southern California.
On June 18, 1923, Mr. Metz was
married to Miss Bessie Miller, born in Pennsylvania, and a graduate of
Occidental College. They have become the
parents of three children, David E., Albert W. and Marilyn May. Mr. Metz is an enthusiastic fisherman and
also enjoys bowling. He is an adherent
of the Republican Party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of
the day. As a soldier in the United
States Army he served for eight months in France at the time of the World War
and is now a member of the American Legion.
He is a Mason having membership in Beverly Hills Lodge and also belongs
to the Beverly Hills Men’s Club; the Young Men’s Christian Association and is
an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Ambitious and energetic, Mr. Metz has
utilized every opportunity to perfect himself in his profession, in which he
has already attained a place of prominence, and his future is most promising,
for he is still young in years.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. IV, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 81-82, Clarke Publ.,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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