Steve Evans is a native of Henderson, Nevada; living there when it was little more than an industrial town. In this interview, Steve tells of his humble life in Henderson's Carver Park community to becoming the owner of a home formerly owned by a teenage mentor, Flora Dungan, who founded Focus, a youth counseling program where he worked. Steve's penchant for architecture threads through this narrative. Among the stories he shares is of his efforts to recover information about his John S. Park home, which was built in 1964, designed by Kennard Design Group of California and considered the best example of mid-century modern architecture in Las Vegas. In addition, Steve is an informed observer of a community in transition. He tells about the thriving commerce of Fremont Street shifting to Maryland Parkway, the beginning of the Arts District, the impact of events on the John S. Park Neighborhood sense of community, events such as the Stratosphere wanting to build a roller coaster as well as the movement to give John S. Park a historical designation. Steve left Las Vegas for a few years to purse his career in social justice and activism. He returned home and has been a involved in community service, a City Planning Commissioner, Chair of the Downtown Design Review among other committees.
In 1944, Robert Forbuss' mother bought a home in a new tract development called Huntridge, adjacent to the John S. Park Neighborhood. She was a single woman who had managed to put together the down payment from her earnings as a cocktail waitress. A couple years later John S. Park Elementary School was built nearby. Through any ups and downs, Marjorie Forbuss refused to live anywhere else for the rest of life, even when Robert encouraged her to move. For this interview, Robert intersperse Las Vegas history while sharing childhood memories of the neighborhood. He graduated from Bishop Gorman High School, the private Catholic prep school, in the mid-1960s. A few years later, Robert returned there as a teacher from 1973 - 1981, teaching kids with familiar last names in the neighborhood he had grown up in. During that time he lived in the John S. Park Neighborhood. He details the charm of the neighborhood, cruising the Downtown area, shopping on Fremont Street and much more. When Robert left teaching, he became the general manger of Mercy Ambulance and Medical Supply, which he ultimately owned until about 2003. During this time, he was a successful business leader and an active community member.