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
- Title
- Burlington Streets: Winooski Ave.
- Description
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August 15, 1939. So. Winooski Ave. looking south from intersection of Main Street after Plant-Mix asphalt pavement with an average of one and one-half inches of hot asphalt binder course or leveling course and two inch wearing surface of American Bitumuls laykold mixture had been placed and the...
Show moreAugust 15, 1939. So. Winooski Ave. looking south from intersection of Main Street after Plant-Mix asphalt pavement with an average of one and one-half inches of hot asphalt binder course or leveling course and two inch wearing surface of American Bitumuls laykold mixture had been placed and the street opened to traffic. Sign to the left near a two story billboard structure states P.W.A. Federal Works Agency Public Works Administration Street Improvements. Billboards advertise Ritz Crackers and Chesterfield Cigarettes. Strong building on the corner to the right.
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- Title
- Burlington Streets: Winooski Ave.
- Description
-
December 7, 1938 View of South Winooski Ave. looking to Main Street as Burlington Street Dept. crew do road work. Rollers are smoothing down the surface as men stand by with shovels. To the right is a sign reading Ben's Dinette located between Main and King Street at 164 So Winooski. To the left...
Show moreDecember 7, 1938 View of South Winooski Ave. looking to Main Street as Burlington Street Dept. crew do road work. Rollers are smoothing down the surface as men stand by with shovels. To the right is a sign reading Ben's Dinette located between Main and King Street at 164 So Winooski. To the left up the street is the back of the Strong Theater. Also to the left is the small white building of William R. Daley's lunch cart at No. 175.
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- Title
- Theatricals
- Date Created
- 1944
- Description
-
1944 or 1945 photo of a large group of people on stage; women in long gowns, men in black bow ties and white jackets, Boy Scouts kneeling in front with a sailor.
- Title
- Theatricals
- Date Created
- 1944
- Description
-
A dark 1944 photo of 18 girls all dressed alike in long dresses on stage. They pose with stretched pieces of cloth that when viewed seem to form 6 pointed "snowflakes." Winter pageant or performance tableau? Photo #2? See also mcalB18F34i05
- Title
- Theatricals
- Date Created
- 1944
- Description
-
1944 photo of 18 girls all dressed alike in long dresses are on stage. They pose with stretched pieces of cloth that when viewed seem to form 6 pointed "snowflakes." Winter pageant or performance tableau? Photo #3. See also mcalB18F34i05
- Title
- Theatricals
- Date Created
- 1945
- Description
-
1944 or 1945 photo of a large group of people on stage; women in long gowns, men in black bow ties and white jackets, Boy Scouts kneeling in front with a sailor.
- Title
- Theatricals
- Description
-
Photo of a production cast sitting on stage in costume assembled in front of an elaborate stage setting.
- Title
- Theatricals
- Description
-
1945 / 1946. Three women actors of a dramatic production pose in period dress in a living room setting with a fireplace. Two women wear hanging ribbon like badges. One woman sits in a rocking chair.
- Title
- Theatricals
- Description
-
View from the theater balcony of a stage production with an elabotate setting. Cast members are assembled on the lush furniture in the living room set.