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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- UVM Groups
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Group portrait of UVM Class of 1931; sophomore year. Three women and 37 men. Size of the group and John Dewey Hall as background indicate a Medical School class. Photo 7Mc
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Group portrait outside on the steps of John Dewey Hall (UVM College of Medicine). All men except for one woman.
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- UVM Groups
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A large group of men and women (including nuns and one clergyman) assemble on the steps of Billings Library on the University of Vermont campus. This could be a class reunion or perhaps a teachers' conference held at UVM.
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- UVM Groups
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Group of women, very likely college students, in front of the Billings Library on an apparently chilly day. Perhaps a newly formed sorority? Several are wearing long ties. Other clothing suggests late 1920s or early 30s.
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- UVM Groups
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UVM graduates in academic regalia. Site and date unknown. Photo #1. See also mcalA18F11i11.
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UVM students in academic regalia. Occasion or year unknown. Taken in front of the Billings Library.
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- UVM Groups
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Group portrait of young men and women, very likely UVM students, assembled before a replica of Old Mill. Very likely a student honor society. However, group identity, the event, date of the photo, and the site are unknown.
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Large assembly, perhaps a commencement gathering, in the campus gymnasium, which is now the Royall Tyler Theatre (identified by the large arched windows facing south). Event and date of photo unknown, but ladies hat styles have a decidedly late 1920s-early 1930s look.
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- UVM Groups
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A group of young men and women assemble for a portrait with a view of University Row buildings in the background. Undated. 1920s?
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- UVM Groups
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University of Vermont Class of [?] reunion. Unknown year, but if taken in the late 1950s, this could be a 45th or 50th reunion for an early 1900s class. Background is probably the Waterman building.
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- UVM Groups
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UVM Medical College Class of 1934 at graduation, with Drs. P. E. McSweeney and T. S. Brown.
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- UVM Groups
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Reunion of UVM Class of 1911 assembled outside what is now Royall Tyler Theater (then a gymnasium). Class reunions often had a costume competition, which explains the Roman togas and laurel wreaths. The reunion of 1956 had 21 registered from the Class of '11--approx. the number here--but clothing...
Show moreReunion of UVM Class of 1911 assembled outside what is now Royall Tyler Theater (then a gymnasium). Class reunions often had a costume competition, which explains the Roman togas and laurel wreaths. The reunion of 1956 had 21 registered from the Class of '11--approx. the number here--but clothing and age suggests perhaps a reunion in the 1940s.
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University of Vermont reunion (30th?) of Class of 1916. Significance of hats, canes, sashes and white apparel unknown.
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A large group of men and women in costume assemble in a gymnasium type room, possibly in Southwick Hall on Redstone campus. Crepe paper streamers festoon from the ceiling. A group of musicians are seen on a stage in the background.
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UVM students, very likely fraternity members, assembled before Sigma Nu fraternity house, 57 So. Williams St. Occasion might be an end-of-semester formal or the Winter Carnival ball.
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University of Vermont Class of 1908 in front of the Waterman building at their 50th reunion. This photo is published in the UVM alumni magazine (July, 1958, p.13), and a caption states that the class won a cake, cup, and cap(s).
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- UVM Groups
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Reunion (25th, in 1957?)of University of Vermont Class of 1932. Background is very likely the Waterman building.
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- UVM Groups
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Class of 1933 reunion group gathered in front of the Waterman Building at their 25th reunion. Photo appears in the July 1958 edition of the Vermont Alumni Quarterly.
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- UVM Groups
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Large group of men and women in front of 481 Main St., the office then of the Vermont Agricultural Extension Service (now Classics and Religion). A cold day with snow on the ground and everyone in overcoats. Most women have fur collars; most men are wearing fedoras. Occasion, status of group, and...
Show moreLarge group of men and women in front of 481 Main St., the office then of the Vermont Agricultural Extension Service (now Classics and Religion). A cold day with snow on the ground and everyone in overcoats. Most women have fur collars; most men are wearing fedoras. Occasion, status of group, and photo date are unknown.
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- UVM Groups
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Group portrait of UVM class of 1929 College of Medicine (outside on the steps of John Dewey Hall) Sophomore year. 1930? Photo #6.