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
great-grandparent, Jacob Metz, came to California in 1849 and after prospecting
and timbering for two years, he went back east returning with his son and the
latter’s wife, Israel and Elizabeth Metz, grandparents of our subject. This long and hazardous journey was made in
1853 with ox teams and terminated at San Jose, where the family located. Jacob Metz and his wife, Annie Metz, are
buried in Castroville, California. A
maternal great-grandfather Tuttle was a soldier in the Mexican War and was
killed in battle. Mr. Metz’
great-grandfather, Andrew Herman Niedecken (I), was born in Germany and came to
this country when a young man. His wife,
Lady Louise Rainey, came of a titled family of Bingen-on-the-Rhine. They had six children, one of them being
Andrew Herman Niedecken (II) who was born in Illinois. The family moved to Los Angeles and in June,
1874, Andrew Herman Niedecken (II) was married to Sarra
Hanna. The father was a very well-known
and highly-respected citizen of Los Angeles and was a 32d degree Mason. He and his wife are buried in the old Masonic
cemetery. The son, Andrew Herman
Niedecken (I) was one of the early merchants of Los Angeles, owning a store at
Fourth and Spring.
He also invested considerably in real estate and owned several fine
pieces of property in this vicinity including the northeast corner of First and
Main streets where his daughter Ethel was born, the northwest corner of Seventh
and Main streets, part of the block where the Angelus Hotel was later built,
and several acres in what is now Hollywood.
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. Joseph
O. and Ethel (Niedecken) were married in Anaheim in 1895 and to them were born
three children: William Raymond; Richard
O.; and Arlene Ethel.
William
R. Metz mastered the branches of learning, taught in the public schools of
Santa Ana and then attended night school in Los Angeles, supplementing that
with lecture courses at the University of Southern California. On completing his studies, he obtained a
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
& Water Company, original owners and sub-dividers of Beverly Hills and
owners of the water works plant. He
remained with the corporation until 1924, 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 sergeant in the United States
Army he served for eight months in France at the time of the World War, later
becoming commissioned a second lieutenant.
He is a member of the American Legion and is a Mason, having membership
in Beverly Hills Lodge. He also belongs
to the Beverly Hills Men’s Club, the Beverly Hills Rotary Club, and 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. V, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 299-301,
Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V.
Gerald Iaquinta.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES
BIOGRAPHIES