Merrill Butler papers, approximately 1890s-2008

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Abstract:
This collection contains personal and professional records relating to Los Angeles civil engeineer Merrill Butler.
Extent:
2.13 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Merrill Butler papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection documents the professional activities of Merrill Butler, an Engineer of Bridges and Structures for the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering. It contains photographs of projects that Butler worked on including the 6th and 7th Street bridges, a small amount of correspondence, certificates, and reports. Box one contains a DVD about the 1st Street viaduct. There is a small amount of personal materials such as photographs from Butler's service in the United States Army 316th Engineers, Company D during World War I, biographical information such as resumes and a biography for his retirement, and condolence correspondence from friends and colleagues following Butler's death.

Biographical / historical:

Merrill Butler was born on October 5, 1891, in Gouverneur, New York and his family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1903. He served as Captain in the United States Army 316th Engineers, Company D during World War I. Butler learned civil engineering via correspondence courses from the University of Wisconsin and began his career of civil service for the city of Los Angeles in 1923. For almost forty years, he served as Engineer of Bridges and Structures for the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering. He initiated the construction of the following bridges over the Los Angeles River: 1st Street, 4th Street, 6th Street, 7th Street, 9th Street, Spring Street, Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., Olympic Blvd., and Glendale-Hyperion. He also designed the Pasadena Freeway tunnels and the original Hyperion sewage treatment plant. He retired from the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, Department of Public Works in 1961. Butler was an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society for Testing Materials, City and County Engineers Association, and other professional organizations. He married Mary R. Lee in 1923, and they had one son.

Butler died in 1963.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Merrill Butler, September 2013. Gift of Natalie Butler, August 2024.
Processing information:

Processed at time of accessioning by Kahlee Leingang in December 2024.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Physical / technical requirements:

NOT AVAILABLE.Born digital items: 1 DVD in box 1 (10). Born-digital materials are not available for paging until reformatted. Please contact Reader Services for more information.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Merrill Butler papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Website