Koval Lane namesake was leader in valley architecture, construction
Aloysius J. Koval, or A.J. Koval, had a hand in building Las Vegas.
Koval was a leader in architecture and construction in the 1950s and 1960s . In 1970, he was an apartment manager on Deckow Lane, not far from his namesake street, Koval Lane.
He held a degree in civil engineering from Michigan State University and a masters in architectural engineering from the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
It is unknown when he moved to Nevada, but he began his career in Las Vegas in the early 1950s.
After a short stint as a Clark County building inspector, Koval worked as an architectural supervisor for the Federal Housing Administration until 1959, said Dennis McBride, historian with the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas.
He was promoted to the departments chief architect that year.
In May 1962, Koval was named director of the building safety division for Clark County, McBride said.
It also is unknown when Koval Lane was dedicated in his honor.
McBride said county maps dated between 1961 and 1966 show the road with the Koval moniker. Previously, parts of the road were named Suzanne Street.
Mark Hall-Patton, administrator of the Clark County Museum System, said Koval was married to an Ann B. Koval, but it is unknown if he had descendants.
Cowboy fact
As the Elks Helldorado Days, planned for May 12-15 in downtown Las Vegas, approaches, many may not know of the connection of a heavily traveled thoroughfare in parts of Paradise to cowboy culture.
Spring Mountain Road was named for the destination it led to, Hall-Patton said.
Spring Mountain Ranch was owned by Hoot Gibson, an actor during the 1950s who is best known for westerns. The ranch was dubbed the D4C because love-lost individuals could stay at the ranch while procuring a hasty divorce, Hall-Patton said.
D4C was a nod to the visitors new status divorcee.
The ranchs reputation also helped dub the states easy divorce laws as the Nevada Cure.
It was a joke, Hall-Patton said.
Gibson spent the latter part of his life earning money as a greeter in casinos.
Contact Centennial and Paradise View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.
NAMING LAS VEGAS
The history behind the naming of various streets, parks, schools, public facilities and other landmarks in the Las Vegas Valley will continue to be explored in a series of feature stories appearing in View editions published on the first Tuesday of every month.
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