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
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1947 photo of a gathering of family and/or friends. Identity of group, venue, and occasion unknown.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1949 or 1950 group portrait of women and four men at dining tables at a restaurant.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1952 photo of banquet tables arranged in long rows with a sign at the far end of the room. Another image reveals the "Welcome" with the medical caduceus symbol seen more clearly.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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Two men in shirt and tie playing horse shoes. 1949. Other male spectators and players stand behind. One woman and child background right. Company picnic? Photo #1
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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Ca. 1946 photo of a group of young women (sorority plus house mother?) at a festive dinner party. Identity of group, venue, and occasion unknown.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1949 photo of a group of well dressed ladies sitting at dining tables in a popular restaurant with a rustic interior. They seemed to be enjoying dessert. The room is paneled in knotty pine, wooden log chandelier with horns and hard wood floors. A white upright piano to the far right. Photo #3.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1944 photo of William H. Wills (center), Governor of Vermont (1941-1945) signing a document, as others look on. The man on the left, still unidentified, is *not* the Lt. Gov. of the time, Mortimer Proctor. The lady on the right is probably his secretary. A photo of Wills's wife, Hazel, is on the...
Show more1944 photo of William H. Wills (center), Governor of Vermont (1941-1945) signing a document, as others look on. The man on the left, still unidentified, is *not* the Lt. Gov. of the time, Mortimer Proctor. The lady on the right is probably his secretary. A photo of Wills's wife, Hazel, is on the left side of the desk. Letters in the background probably spell "President Coolidge." Photo #1.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1935 or 1936 indoor photo of a large unidentified group of mostly women (five men seen). They are gathered in a room with an over hang and pipes visible overhead. Game room? Is that a ping pong table to the far left foreground? Photo #2.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1951 or 1952 photo of men and women seated in a rustic restaurant with knotty pine walls. In the far right corner of the photo is seen the tips of branches of a Christmas tree decorated with tinsel.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1944 photo of four men, very likely in a business setting, with unpainted walls in the background. Names, location, occasion are unknown.
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1957/ 1958. This rustic wooden paneled room (perhaps a restaurant) is where a group of men and women gather for a group portrait. Burlington residents, Bob and Bea Earnshaw in second row seated left side. . Photo #3. See also mcalA15F05i12, i13 and mcalA15F08i01, mcalA15F05i11
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1949 photo of a group of well dressed ladies sitting at dining tables in a popular restaurant with a rustic interior. They seemed to be enjoying dessert. The room is paneled in knotty pine and has hard wood floors. Photo #1.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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Birds eye view of a banquet on the floor of Memorial Auditorium in Burlington, Vt as seen from the balcony. On the floor men and women are seated at dining tables. Men seated at a very long head table just in front of the stage (only one woman seated the head table). Dated 1949 - 1950. Photo #3.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1958 photo of group of young people and a few adults gathered at a rustic interior restaurant. Photo #2.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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Ca. 1946 photo of large group of men dressed in suits, gathered in a restaurant or other dining facility for a portrait. Identity of group, location, and occasion are unknown. (See also mcalB15F19i04.)
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1953 photo of young people with several adults gathered in a rustic restaurant. Wooden log chandelier overhead is missing one light bulb. See mcalB16F07i08 for another exposure of same group. Photo #2.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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Ca. 1945 photo of a group of young women, dressed for a formal ball. Identity of group, venue, and occasion unknown.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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Ca. 1945 photo of 2 women working in an office.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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1945 photo of a group of men and women ready to board a train. Most passengers have tags attached to their clothing. Train station very likely in Essex Junction, Vt. A few cars are parked on the left. A Western Union sign can be seen in the distance, left.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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Ca. 1948 photo of a large group of women and one man (choral group?). Identity of persons, location, and occasion are unknown.