Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Collection Overview
Louis L. McAllister photographed people and places near Burlington, Vermont for 60 years. He was born in Columbus, Nebraska on October 16, 1876, the son of Julius S. McAllister (born 1841 in Lincoln, VT) and Rosette Gould (born in Vermont in 1851)...
Show moreLouis L. McAllister photographed people and places near Burlington, Vermont for 60 years. He was born in Columbus, Nebraska on October 16, 1876, the son of Julius S. McAllister (born 1841 in Lincoln, VT) and Rosette Gould (born in Vermont in 1851). Julius McAllister worked as a photographer and dentist in Washington D.C., Bristol, Vermont and Columbus, Nebraska. Around 1895, Julius, his third wife Amy, and their children left Nebraska for the Union Soldiers’ Colony in Fitzgerald, Georgia. By 1900, Julius and Amy were divorced, and Amy and her stepson Louis were working as photographers in Thomasville, Georgia.
In 1907 Louis McAllister married Cora Shepard (born about 1872 in Vermont) in Holland, Michigan. By 1910, they were living in Queen City Park in South Burlington, Vermont, where Louis established a photography studio. The McAllisters moved to Burlington, and by 1919 they lived at 47 N. Winooski Avenue. They continued to occupy a summer cottage at Queen City Park, and were active in the Queen City Park Association, which held spiritualist camp meetings annually. McAllister conducted his photography business from home until his death in 1963.
McAllister’s “trademark” was his panorama camera which made him familiar to all sorts of groups ranging from graduating classes to state police to summer camp groups. In addition he did print 8 x 10 photos, many of which document building construction and Burlington Street Department projects, as well as group and individual portraits.
The L.L. McAllister Collection includes portraits, construction projects, buildings, businesses and events in the Burlington area covering the period ca. 1920-1960. The collection also includes photos of street, bridge, airport and sewer construction and repair, as well as group portraits of clubs, schools, etc.
Revised April, 2010
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Related Archival Collection
Pages
- Title
- Fletcher Free Library (Burlington, VT)
- Description
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View of a construction site and construction workers behind Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont.
- Title
- Kresge's (Burlington Store) - exteriors, excavation, construction
- Description
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April 5, 1955. Construction of S.S. Kresge Company department store #397 on Church Street in Burlington, Vermont. W. C. Calhoun, superintendent. View of ground level site. Two crew members work with timber supports.
- Title
- Kresge's (Burlington Store) - exteriors, excavation, construction
- Description
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June 16, 1955. Construction of S.S. Kresge Company department store #397 on Church Street in Burlington, Vermont. W. C. Calhoun, supt. Workmen are seen within cement block constructed upper story. Steel beams stretch across above. View is looking west. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception...
Show moreJune 16, 1955. Construction of S.S. Kresge Company department store #397 on Church Street in Burlington, Vermont. W. C. Calhoun, supt. Workmen are seen within cement block constructed upper story. Steel beams stretch across above. View is looking west. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is to the center right. The Cathedral School is background center and continues to the left.
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- Title
- Lakeview Cemetery Addition, Burlington
- Description
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July 3, 1934. P. W. A. Project # 2362. A view showing the rolling of the crushed stone before the application of the Penetration Asphalt at the Lakeview Cemetery located at 455 North Ave, Burlington, Vermont.
- Title
- Lakeview Cemetery Addition, Burlington (4X5)
- Description
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May 2, 1934. A view of the open area of the Lakeview Cemetery addition, located at 455 North Ave, Burlington, Vermont. Men and teams of horses can be seen grading the land.
- Title
- Mary Fletcher Hospital, Burlington - Construction
- Description
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November 7, 1950. Construction of Mary Fletcher Hospital, Burlington, Vermont. Architects McKim, Mead & White. Builders Vermilya Brown Co., Inc. Upper most story with framing in place. Six construction crew members stop their work and look at the photographer. A large utility truck is to the right.
- Title
- New England Telephone and Telegraph Co.
- Description
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1950 construction of New England Telephone and Telegraph Co, 266 Main Street, Burlington, Vt. Back side looking toward Main Street (can see Edmunds High School building through the trees in background) Workmen seen on top of the structure along with lumber and other construction supplies.
- Title
- New England Telephone and Telegraph Co.
- Description
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1950 construction of New England Telephone and Telegraph Co, 266 Main Street, Burlington, Vt. Back side looking toward Main Street (can see Edmunds High School building through the trees in background). Workmen seen on top of structure along with lumber and other building supplies.
- Title
- Oil Tank Construction
- Description
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1950 landscape view of oil tank construction site. Workmen and various trucks and machinery seen.
- Title
- Oil Tank Construction
- Description
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July 15, 1952 oil tank construction by C. A. Congdon Construction. Workmen on site. Location may be Burlington water front.
- Title
- Oil Tank Construction
- Description
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July 15, 1952. Oil tank by C. A. Congdon Construction being built on the water front, Burlington, Vt. Lake Champlain beyond with ferry crossing seen in distance.
- Title
- Oil Tank Construction
- Description
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July 15, 1952. Crew members of C. A. Congdon Construction building oil tank on the water front, Burlington, Vt.
- Title
- Parks
- Description
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November 22, 1938. Workmen operate steam rollers, dump trucks and other equipment as they construct an urban park.
- Title
- Parks
- Description
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November 22, 1938. Crew work on constructing an urban park. Seen is a truck with barrels and hose. Also a steam roller.
- Title
- Parks
- Description
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July 27, 1938. Construction of an urban park. Work crew seen in the distance.
- Title
- Parks
- Description
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November 14, 1938. Work crew smooth out embankment during construction of an urban park.
- Title
- Parks (4X5)
- Description
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November 14, 1938. A workman grates the earth with a tractor. Houses line the area. Other workmen seen in the distance.
- Title
- Portraits, groups, unidentified
- Description
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Six men stand outside in the snow. May be members of a work crew doing a city street project. A truck can be seen in the background above the men.
- Title
- Road Construction
- Description
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Undated photograph of a group of workers posing at a construction site on an unknown Burlington Street
- Title
- Road Construction
- Description
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View of a road under reconstruction. The dirt surface has loose rocks. A manhole is seen in the middle of the road foreground. Men, machines and automobiles in the distance.