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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- Stores, Interiors
- Description
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Two men in front work on boats at the Champlain Marine and Realty Co. indoor shop. Two others work near work benches in the back. Three long wooden boats are seen. Banners advertise services, marine insurance, water demonstrations, Chris-Craft and Johnson Sea Horses.
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- Stores, Interiors
- Description
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View of the meat counter in a local grocery store advertising various fresh cuts of beef and lamb as well as canned meats.
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- Vergennes Inn
- Description
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Clarks Hardware and the Vergennes Inn, at the corner of Main and Green Street in Vergennes. The site of a tavern in the late 18th c., this property was purchased by the Stevens family in 1793 and was eventually known as the Stevens House and Stevens House Hotel. Photo dated 1945.
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- Vermont Structural Steel
- Description
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1951 Interior view of the Vermont Structural Steel plant on 207 Flynn Ave, Burlington, Vermont.
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- Vermont Structural Steel
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Two male employees working with large machinery at the Vermont Structural Steel plant on Flynn Ave in Burlington, Vermont. Dated 1951.
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- Vermont Structural Steel
- Description
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Business office of Vermont Structural Steel with a sign with the name F. W. Floyd, Chief Engineer seen in upper left corner. 1951.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel
- Description
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Office of Vermont Structural Steel with engineers working at drafting tables. 1951.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel
- Description
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Another view of the business office of Vermont Structural Steel. Sign with the name F. W. Floyd, Chief Engineer seen in upper right corner. 1951.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel
- Description
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1951 Interior view of the Vermont Structural Steel plant on 207 Flynn Ave, Burlington, Vermont.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel
- Description
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1951 Interior view of the Vermont Structural Steel plant on 207 Flynn Ave, Burlington, Vermont.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings
- Description
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1947 photo of machinery and materials outside the buildings of Vt. Structural Steel.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings
- Description
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1947 photo of the physical plant at Vermont Structural Steel, with track conveyors and pulleys for moving girders and other steel products. The sign for another business, Canada Dry Bottling Co., can be seen in the distance (although no such business is listed in the Burlington City directory of...
Show more1947 photo of the physical plant at Vermont Structural Steel, with track conveyors and pulleys for moving girders and other steel products. The sign for another business, Canada Dry Bottling Co., can be seen in the distance (although no such business is listed in the Burlington City directory of 1946 or '48).
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- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings
- Description
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1947 photo of Vermont Structural Steel Co. building with tractor trailer loaded with steel beam and parked along railroad tracks.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings' Interiors
- Description
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Ca. 1951 photo of a large shop at Vt. Structural Steel, filled with steel processing machines, piles of beams and sheets of steel, and cylindrical tanks.
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- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings' Interiors
- Description
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Ca. 1951 photo of perhaps a loading dock at Vt. Structural Steel, or another venue with a railroad track protected by a steel-framed structure.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings' Interiors
- Description
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Ca. 1951 photo, taken from an elevated vantage, of a large shop at Vt. Structural Steel: tools, tanks, machines, and piles of steel and steel products.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings' Interiors
- Description
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Ca. 1951 photo of the administrative office at Vt. Structural Steel. Three employees are present but difficult to see because of the under exposure and blurred areas.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings' Interiors
- Description
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Ca. 1951 photo of a large workshop at Vt. Structural Steel. Among the loose arrangement of fuel tanks, machinery, and hoses, there are piles of steel products in various shapes and sizes.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings' Interiors
- Description
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Ca. 1951 photo of a shop at Vt. Structural Steel, with two employees moving a sheet of steel through a machine.
- Title
- Vermont Structural Steel Co. - Buildings' Interiors
- Description
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Ca. 1951 photo of the interior of a large shop at Vt. Structural Steel, with a variety of machines, equipment, and steel products contained in a massive steel edifice.