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
- Title
- Burlington Streets: Main Street (4X5's)
- Description
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March 18, 1940 late winter view of Main Street in front of the Strong Theatre building. The Snow King Rotary Snow Plow is mounted on the city street dept Walter's Snow Fighter Truck as it performs snow removal. Note the movie marque at the Strong, "The Marines Fly High" starring Richard Dix and...
Show moreMarch 18, 1940 late winter view of Main Street in front of the Strong Theatre building. The Snow King Rotary Snow Plow is mounted on the city street dept Walter's Snow Fighter Truck as it performs snow removal. Note the movie marque at the Strong, "The Marines Fly High" starring Richard Dix and Chester Morris.
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- Title
- Burlington Streets: Main Street (4X5's)
- Description
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Undated (may be late 1920s or early 1930s) overhead view of the continuation of asphalt application over the old brick pavement on Main Street between South Winooski Ave. and Church Street. Note the old trolley car tracks which are being covered up. Cable wires are still strung and barely visible...
Show moreUndated (may be late 1920s or early 1930s) overhead view of the continuation of asphalt application over the old brick pavement on Main Street between South Winooski Ave. and Church Street. Note the old trolley car tracks which are being covered up. Cable wires are still strung and barely visible overhead. On the right is the Post Office. Further up the street is the Strong Theatre building.
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- Title
- Burlington Streets: Main Street (Lower)
- Description
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Sept. 1, 1929. View of Main Street looking east up the hill from intersection of Church Street. Note the old trolley car tracks and overhead wires, also uneven and worn condition of the old brick pavement. This picture was taken just before constructing the new asphalt pavement by the city street...
Show moreSept. 1, 1929. View of Main Street looking east up the hill from intersection of Church Street. Note the old trolley car tracks and overhead wires, also uneven and worn condition of the old brick pavement. This picture was taken just before constructing the new asphalt pavement by the city street dept., using the old brick pavement as a base. Parked cars and businesses line both sides of the street. On the right is the Strong Theatre with a sign along one side of the building advertising "Vermont home of Chilton Paint Co." In the distant center of photo a car cruises through the intersection of Main and South Winooski Ave.
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- Title
- Strong Theatre (Burlington, VT)
- Date Created
- 1946-1947
- Description
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1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as a drugstore and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was...
Show more1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as a drugstore and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was destroyed by arson in 1970, and rubble at the site was used to help build the Burlington bike path.
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- Title
- Strong Theatre (Burlington, VT)
- Date Created
- 1946-1947
- Description
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1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as a drugstore and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was...
Show more1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as a drugstore and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was destroyed by arson in 1970, and rubble at the site was used to help build the Burlington bike path.
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- Title
- Strong Theatre (Burlington, VT)
- Date Created
- 1946-1947
- Description
-
1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as Brown's Pharmacy and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was...
Show more1946 photo of the Strong Building, home of Strong Hardware Co. and the Strong Theatre, as well as Brown's Pharmacy and ice cream shop. Date on the building is 1902. The marquee reads: Abbott and Costello: "The Naughty Nineties," with Alan Curtis. (The movie came out in 1945.) The building was destroyed by arson in 1970, and rubble at the site was used to help build the Burlington bike path.
Show less