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: Intervale
- Description
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June 29, 1946. Burlington Street Department - Burlington, Vermont Intervale Road - Asphalt Stabilized base and Armor Coat Wearing Surface This view taken from the railroad crossing looking southerly toward Riverside Ave. shows the mixing process while constructing the stabilized base using...
Show moreJune 29, 1946. Burlington Street Department - Burlington, Vermont Intervale Road - Asphalt Stabilized base and Armor Coat Wearing Surface This view taken from the railroad crossing looking southerly toward Riverside Ave. shows the mixing process while constructing the stabilized base using asphalt emulsion (XRM) as a binder. The materials used for aggregate on this job was road gravel hauled from the Lunderville Pit in the town of Williston last October and spread approximately 28 feet in width over the entire section from Riverside Ave. to the railroad crossing, a distance of approximately 875 feet. Note the Allis-Chalmers Power Grader mixing the gravel after the asphalt emulsion had been applied by pressure distributor. The Armor Coat Wearing Surface was constructed directly after the stabilized base had been completed. This is a very economical type of paving, especially where a cheaper grade of materials can be used and the location does not demand a higher type of pavement. Note the high embankment in the right background where several thousand cubic yards of filling was loaded by the Street Department with its power shovel and hauled with trucks to widen both sides of Intervale Road on the section between the railroad crossing and Riverside Ave. as well as the grading around the new catch basins and the filling of the ramp on the river bank where the undertile drainage pipe leads to the river. All of this filling was donated free of charge by the owner of the property (Geo. C. Stanley and Sons) to the City as well as a considerable amount of concrete sand and gravel for the construction of concrete catch basins and headwalls in connection with the drainage system. This project, which was approved for construction by the Board of Street Commissioners in June 1945 was practically completed on July 3, 1946 for the first section. The original plans included the second section from the railroad crossing northerly to a point approximately 100 feet northerly by the so-called Pariseau residence. This section was prepared last fall as to the grading and gravel surface and as no underground drainage is necessary it can be completed with very little expense as the only materials necessary to purchase will be asphalt emulsion.
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- Title
- Burlington Streets: Staniford Road
- Description
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September 30, 1942. Photo No. 14. This view of Staniford Road construction shows the Sheep's foot roller being employed for compacting the moist pavement mixture after it has been thoroughly mixed. This type of roller compacts the pavement from the bottom up to the surface and prevents areas of...
Show moreSeptember 30, 1942. Photo No. 14. This view of Staniford Road construction shows the Sheep's foot roller being employed for compacting the moist pavement mixture after it has been thoroughly mixed. This type of roller compacts the pavement from the bottom up to the surface and prevents areas of insufficient compaction. The business name of Holcomb Trucking Co. seen on the back of the tractor. Work done the Burlington Street Dept.
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- Title
- Fort Ethan Allen Artillery Range (Underhill)
- Description
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Column of tractor drawn artillery and other ordnance on road with utility poles.
- Title
- Ticonderoga - Move to Shelburne Museum
- Description
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January 19, 1955. Some of the men and equipment on site needed to prepare the terrain for the transport of the steamship Ticonderoga to the Shelburne Museum. The engineering firm of Merritt-Chapman & Scott were contracted to undertake the move. They subcontracted with W. B. Hill Co. of Tilton,...
Show moreJanuary 19, 1955. Some of the men and equipment on site needed to prepare the terrain for the transport of the steamship Ticonderoga to the Shelburne Museum. The engineering firm of Merritt-Chapman & Scott were contracted to undertake the move. They subcontracted with W. B. Hill Co. of Tilton, New Hampshire to oversee the ship's overland trip. Photo 104.
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- Title
- Winooski Bridge
- Description
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June 3, 1943. This view shows a close-up of the "A" frame and special attachment for a "rolling pull". In removing the (trolley track) rails on this project without the aid of a cutting torch and with very little damage to the pavement.