History of Metropolitan Garage

Steve and Rebecca Levey are natural partners, and have been involved in family business since they met in 1994.

The stock-car racing circuit was their first partnership. In 1995, Steve and family built a 1972 Camaro which Rebecca drove. With Steve as pit crew and chief mechanic, Rebecca took first prize in both Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.

And then there were Snow Machines. Rebecca’s love of fast driving was piqued by the wintertime activity of travel on the trail systems of Interior Alaska. They have owned everything from Mountain Machines to the trusty Skidoo Tundra. Snow Machines are anything but reliable and Steve’s ability to predict pattern failures in equipment meant they could travel enormous distances without once having to walk home.

From the beginning, Steve has had a yen for Alaska. Born in Glens Falls, New York, and raised in Lincoln, Massachusetts, he finally achieved his dream of traveling to Alaska during undergraduate school. After buying and fixing a wrecked BMW motorcycle, Steve made the journey up and down the Alaska Highway throughout college and finally settled in Fairbanks for good. He began his career-life in Alaska by working for the department of History and Archaeology in Anchorage. He has a masters degree in history from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he studied the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. He went on to gather a degree in teaching from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He then taught in South East Alaska, Hutchison Career Center and West Valley High School, before going full time as owner/mechanic at Metro. Steve has also taught OLLIE classes as well as Folk School classes.

Rebecca’s entrepreneurial spirit is naturally expressed in her involvement and accomplishments as a leader in the Fairbanks civic and education communities. She was one of three founding members of the Folk School Fairbanks. She started Week in the Woods with craftsman John Manthei. She began and maintained the Bog Project, a home-school association course in Field and Natural History. She also started and continues to direct the Alaska Cello Intensive, an international Music Education Program located on the University of Alaska, Fairbanks Campus. She has served on various boards including the NSCF-FXC board, local church boards, ecumenical association boards, educational institution boards, and Fairbanks Youth Orchestras.