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
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
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1952 photo of a young pianist at the keyboard, dressed in a white gown and seated in a formal (and rather dark) setting with flowers and other plants.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
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1952 photo of twin sisters bowing after their piano recital, a moment very likely re-created by the photographer.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
-
1952 photo of a young pianist at the keyboard, dressed in a white gown and seated in a formal (and rather dark) setting with flowers and other plants.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
-
Young pianist playing the piano in formal setting at the time of her piano recital.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
-
1952 photo of a young pianist at the keyboard, dressed in a formal gown at the time of her piano recital.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
-
1952 photo of a young pianist at the keyboard, dressed in a white gown and seated in a formal (and rather dark) setting with flowers and other plants.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
-
1952 photo of a young pianist at the keyboard, dressed in a formal gown at the time of her piano recital.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
-
1952 photo of twin sisters (see mcalB13F30i04) playing a duet at the piano.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
-
1952 photo of a young pianist at the keyboard, dressed in a suit and seated in a formal (and rather dark) setting with flowers and other plants.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
-
1952 photo of young piano students at the time of their recital, with girls wearing long white gowns and the boys in jackets and bow ties. Name of studio unknown.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
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Formal portrait of a young pianist on the occasion of her piano recital.
- Title
- Piano - Recitals
- Description
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Group photo, dated 1952, of a young piano studio at the time of their recital, with girls wearing long formal gowns and the 2 boys in jackets and bow ties. Name of the piano studio and/or its instructor unknown.
- Title
- Portraits - Individuals
- Description
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1951 / 1952 portrait photo of a man seated and playing a small organ in a restaurant. People behind eating in booths; candelabra seen on the instrument.
- Title
- Portraits, groups, unidentified
- Description
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A country band stands on a stage with their instruments (bass fiddle, guitar, accordion, violin) and evergreen trees arranged in back of the band and leaning against the front of the stage. A young tap dancer is seen to the far right.
- Title
- Portraits, groups, unidentified
- Description
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ROTC banners hang on the wall in the back of a large gymnasium type room. Crepe paper streamers festoon from the ceiling above a large group of men and women. Some of the men are in uniform. A group of musicians are seen on a raised band stand near the center of the room in the background.
- Title
- Rice Memorial High School - Groups
- Date Created
- 1959
- Description
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Rice Memorial High School concert and marching band, with bandmaster Joseph F. Lechnyr (1895-1959) in white uniform. Music supervisor at Cathedral High School since 1921, and conductor of many music ensembles in the Champlain Valley, Lechnyr lived only a few weeks after Rice opened, dying of a...
Show moreRice Memorial High School concert and marching band, with bandmaster Joseph F. Lechnyr (1895-1959) in white uniform. Music supervisor at Cathedral High School since 1921, and conductor of many music ensembles in the Champlain Valley, Lechnyr lived only a few weeks after Rice opened, dying of a heart attack on March 21, 1959.
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- Title
- Saint Joseph's Church and Chapel
- Date Created
- 1951-1952
- Description
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1951 / 1952 photo of Saint Joseph's Church sanctuary with worshipers. The church, the largest in Vermont, was finished in 1887, but the parish itself began in 1850. A centennial history of the parish was published in 1987 and has a detailed history of the building's design and construction. Here...
Show more1951 / 1952 photo of Saint Joseph's Church sanctuary with worshipers. The church, the largest in Vermont, was finished in 1887, but the parish itself began in 1850. A centennial history of the parish was published in 1987 and has a detailed history of the building's design and construction. Here one sees the full panoply of religious artifacts and decoration known before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, some of which can be seen at St. Joseph's today. These include a reproduction of DaVinci's "Last Supper," numerous statues of saints and angels, at least 3 American flags, perhaps a flag of Vatican City, flowers, plants, and special lighting. In addition, a man standing in the middle of the church appears to be playing a trumpet. The occasion of this particular mass is not known.
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- Title
- Theatricals
- Description
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1948 / 1949 photo of performers, some in blackface assembled on a stage with a large shield shaped sign reading "P of H" Photo #2.
- Title
- Theatricals
- Description
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1948 / 1949 photo of performers, some in blackface assembled on a stage with a large shield shaped sign reading "P of H" Photo #1.
- Title
- Trinity College - Sports & Activities
- Description
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1949 Music lesson or rehearsal at Trinity College. Faculty member is probably Miss Dorothy Hunt.