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
- Stores - Sherwin-Williams Paints (Burlington, VT)
- Date Created
- 1946-1947
- Description
-
"Including T.S. Peck Insurance Agency 154 College Street" (written on back of photo). 1940s vintage automobiles parked at 152-154 College St., just across from City Hall park, in front of Sherwin-Williams Paints and T.S. Peck Insurance.
- Title
- Stores - Singer (Burlington, VT)
- Date Created
- undated
- Description
-
23Church St. 3/4 view of the Singer Sewing machine store. The previously empty lot at 19-21 Church St., as seen in mcalB18F27i02 and others, is now [Mortimer] Irving's ladies' clothing store. (The name is visible on the advertising.) Date must be 1952 or later. Good sampling of cars.
- Title
- Stores, Exteriors
- Description
-
Burlington retail store for Dodge Plymouth automobiles advertising its Spring open house. A man and woman stand outside next to a car; she in fur coat; he next to her with one leg on the running board.
- Title
- Strong Theatre (Burlington, VT)
- Date Created
- 1946-1947
- Description
-
1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as a drugstore and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was...
Show more1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as a drugstore and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was destroyed by arson in 1970, and rubble at the site was used to help build the Burlington bike path.
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- Title
- Strong Theatre (Burlington, VT)
- Date Created
- 1946-1947
- Description
-
1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as a drugstore and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was...
Show more1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as a drugstore and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was destroyed by arson in 1970, and rubble at the site was used to help build the Burlington bike path.
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- Title
- Strong Theatre (Burlington, VT)
- Date Created
- 1946-1947
- Description
-
1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as Brown's Pharmacy and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was...
Show more1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as Brown's Pharmacy and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was destroyed by arson in 1970, and rubble at the site was used to help build the Burlington bike path.
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- Title
- Ticonderoga - Move to Shelburne Museum
- Description
-
Undated but may be late 1954. Two unidentified men and their automobile stand in front of the steamship Ticonderoga as the ship rests on its cradle. Location may be the basin dug at the southern end of Shelburne Bay during preparation of the ship's overland journey to the Shelburne Museum.
- Title
- UVM - Housing (Temporary)
- Description
-
Temporary housing units near main campus, with a few parked cars and trucks. These dwellings preceded the construction of the Chittenden-Buckham-Wills dormitories and very likely accommodated GI's coming to UVM as part of the "GI Bill." Dated 1946 / 1947.
- Title
- UVM Ira Allen Chapel
- Description
-
Ira Allen Chapel as seen from the north end of University Place. Other buildings include: Torrey Hall (behind chapel), Billings Library, Williams Hall, and Old Mill. 2 automobiles.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel
- Description
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View of the framing of a metal structural building with an automobile (convertible (?) with white wall tires) parked in front. 1951.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings
- Description
-
1947 photo of the steel frame of an uncovered structure (perhaps at the Vermont Structural Steel plant). Some automobiles are parked on the left.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Construction Sites
- Description
-
1951 photo of a construction site, where the steel frame of the building is complete or near completion. Site is unknown but probably downtown Burlington. Several (now vintage) automobiles parked nearby.
- Title
- Veterans of Foreign Wars
- Description
-
1952 photo of (very likely) an Armistice Day parade, on the way to the VFW memorial at Battery Park (see mcalB21F14i11). Leading the parade are Burlington Mayor J. Edward Moran (left), two other men in uniform, and a color guard carrying the American flag and the VFW Howard Plant Post No. 782...
Show more1952 photo of (very likely) an Armistice Day parade, on the way to the VFW memorial at Battery Park (see mcalB21F14i11). Leading the parade are Burlington Mayor J. Edward Moran (left), two other men in uniform, and a color guard carrying the American flag and the VFW Howard Plant Post No. 782 flag. 782 is named after Burlington's first casualty in World War I, Howard W. Plant.
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- Title
- Veterans of Foreign Wars
- Description
-
Several women of the Ladies Auxiliary hold food baskets that has been collected and probably are about to be delivered to the needy. The women gather near the open trunk of an automobile with a Vermont 1957 license plate. A toy Coca Cola Santa Claus doll stands on the car's back fender.
- Title
- Veterans of Foreign Wars - Ladies Auxiliary
- Description
-
1957 photo of a group of VFW Ladies Auxiliary members ready to distribute, presumably, Christmas gift packages to the needy, perhaps specifically to veterans. The trunk of the car is opened and filled with baskets, almost like a modern cornucopia. Location appears to be a suburban residence, very...
Show more1957 photo of a group of VFW Ladies Auxiliary members ready to distribute, presumably, Christmas gift packages to the needy, perhaps specifically to veterans. The trunk of the car is opened and filled with baskets, almost like a modern cornucopia. Location appears to be a suburban residence, very likely the home of one of the women veterans in the picture. Photo #1.
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- Title
- Winooski, VT - American Woolen Mills Flag Raising
- Description
-
1922 flag raising at the American Woolen Mills (AWM) in Winooski, Vermont, perhaps on the Fourth of July or on Labor Day, when AWM sponsored a Field Day for employees and their families. It appears to be summertime and a large crowd is gathered in Mill Park for the event. Automobiles are parked...
Show more1922 flag raising at the American Woolen Mills (AWM) in Winooski, Vermont, perhaps on the Fourth of July or on Labor Day, when AWM sponsored a Field Day for employees and their families. It appears to be summertime and a large crowd is gathered in Mill Park for the event. Automobiles are parked on both sides of West Canal Street in the background. Photo 5 of five images that create a panoramic view when placed together.
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- Title
- Winooski, VT - American Woolen Mills Flag Raising
- Description
-
1922 flag raising at the American Woolen Mills (AWM) in Winooski, Vermont, perhaps on the Fourth of July or on Labor Day, when AWM sponsored a Field Day for employees and their families. It appears to be summertime and a large crowd is gathered in Mill Park for the event. A corner of the speakers...
Show more1922 flag raising at the American Woolen Mills (AWM) in Winooski, Vermont, perhaps on the Fourth of July or on Labor Day, when AWM sponsored a Field Day for employees and their families. It appears to be summertime and a large crowd is gathered in Mill Park for the event. A corner of the speakers' stage is seen on the left. The street on the uphill side of the park is very likely West Center St., and Follett St. is off to the right. Photo 4 of five images that create a panoramic view when placed together.
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- Title
- Winooski, VT - American Woolen Mills Flag Raising
- Description
-
1922 flag raising at the American Woolen Mills in Winooski, Vermont. This could have occurred on July 4th or perhaps on Labor Day, when the mill sponsored a "Field Day" for mill workers and their families. The street seen here is very likely Follett St., with the Congregational Church at the top...
Show more1922 flag raising at the American Woolen Mills in Winooski, Vermont. This could have occurred on July 4th or perhaps on Labor Day, when the mill sponsored a "Field Day" for mill workers and their families. The street seen here is very likely Follett St., with the Congregational Church at the top of the hill (upper left). (Photo 1 of five images that create a panoramic view when placed together.)
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