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
- Cathedral High School, Burlington
- Description
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1956 Freshman Chorus gathered onto gymnasium bleachers into two groups with a center divide for formal photo. Girls are in the front dressed in school uniforms; boys are in the back rows. A select group of girls stand in front of the rest each standing on either side of the center divide. Photo...
Show more1956 Freshman Chorus gathered onto gymnasium bleachers into two groups with a center divide for formal photo. Girls are in the front dressed in school uniforms; boys are in the back rows. A select group of girls stand in front of the rest each standing on either side of the center divide. Photo numbered 10. Taken for the school yearbook, Tower 1956.
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- Title
- Congregational Church, First - Groups
- Description
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Photo of a high school majorette (probably Cathedral High School in the 1950s) Undated. Could this be Sandra Dutra, class of 1958?
- Title
- McAllister Portraits
- Description
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Commerical photographer Louis L. McAllister seen seated in the Cathedral High School gym with his camera on tripod during one of his many photo shoots of the students. Undated but may be 1950s.
- Title
- Mount St. Mary's Academy - Graduates
- Description
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1956 photo of a priest of Cathedral High School, Burlington, Vt.
- Title
- Musical Ensembles
- Description
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Cathedral High School band and baton twirlers assembled on stage. Location may be at the school or elsewhere in Burlington, Vermont. Event may be All State. Undated but believed to be 1957. Photo #29.
- Title
- Musical Ensembles
- Description
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Cathedral High School band and baton twirlers with drum major assembled on stage under the direction of Dr. Joseph Lechnyr, top right. Location may be at the school or elsewhere in Burlington, Vermont. Event may be All State. Photo #37.
- Title
- Portraits - Individuals
- Description
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Two undated photographs of Cathedral High School drum majorette. Probably taken for year book.