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
- Military Equipment
- Description
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1937 photo of a pick axe head separated from its handle and bound together with leather straps displayed on a running board of a military vehicle.
- Title
- Military Equipment
- Description
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1930s photo of military vehicles; cars and trucks.
- Title
- Military Equipment
- Description
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1937 close up photo of the side of a military vehicle identified as 7th F. A. Btry E. 1 showing attached metal container and an axe. Field Artillery
- Title
- Military Equipment
- Description
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1937 photo of a military vehicle; a truck with equipment and tire chains laid out on the grass. 7th F. A. Btry. D (Field Artillery)
- Title
- Military Equipment
- Description
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1937 photo of a military vehicle identified as belonging to the 7th F. A. Btry D displaying various tools and military equipment.
- Title
- Military Equipment
- Description
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1937 close up photo of the side of a military vehicle belonging to the 7th F. A. Btry. D showing placement of a pick axe behind the truck's cab. (Field Artillery)
- Title
- Military Equipment
- Description
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1937 close up photo of a military vehicle showing an attached metal container and a disassembled pick axe strapped to the running board.
- Title
- Military Equipment
- Description
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1937 photo of a military vehicle identified as belonging to the 7th F.A. Btry D displaying various tools and military equipment.
- Title
- Military Equipment
- Description
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Photo showing the placement of a pick axe attached with leather straps to the underside of a military vehicle. Dated 1957.
- Title
- Parks
- Description
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November 22, 1938. Workmen operate steam rollers, dump trucks and other equipment as they construct an urban park.
- Title
- Parks
- Description
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November 22, 1938. Crew work on constructing an urban park. Seen is a truck with barrels and hose. Also a steam roller.
- Title
- Portraits, groups, unidentified
- Description
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Six men stand outside in the snow. May be members of a work crew doing a city street project. A truck can be seen in the background above the men.
- Title
- Road Construction
- Description
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September 10, 1928. Workmen, bags of cement, trucks, machinery and road side billboards all are seen at this road construction site. On the photo's left side is seen strung lines to plumb the straight edge of the road side.
- Title
- Scrap Metal Collection
- Date Created
- 1945
- Description
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1945 - Scrap Metal Collection - A man with a power shovel has a scoopful of scrap metal near a partially filled truck. Initials on the truck's door read, "C.R. Co." Another man stands in the truck bed with shovel, two others look on.
- Title
- Sewer Projects
- Description
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November 24, 1939. A dump truck deposits its load at a sewer project site as crew members work nearby. Other trucks and machinery seen.
- Title
- Sewer Projects
- Description
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March 9, 1932. Members of a crew work with shovels on a timber platform within a wooden frame. Lumber is seen laying on the ground to the left. Trucks and other equipment are in the area.
- Title
- Shelburne Museum - Construction
- Date Created
- 1951-1952
- Description
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1951 / 1952 view of open acres of land belonging to the Shelburne Museum. Plumbs of earth are seen as the land is worked.
- Title
- Stores - People's Department Store (Burlington, VT)
- Date Created
- 1952
- Description
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25 Church Street : Rear entrance to People's Dept. store, with truck in foreground.
- Title
- Stores - Sherwin-Williams Paints (Burlington, VT)
- Date Created
- 1946-1947
- Description
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Including T.S. Peck Insurance Agency 154 College Street : Truck with Sherwin Williams business info parked in front of store at 152 College. (SW may have moved recently to 152 without having changed the address on the truck.)
- Title
- Ticonderoga - Move to Shelburne Museum
- Description
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A young family poses in front of the steamship Ticonderoga during its overland journey to the Shelburne Museum. On the ship's side is the sign for W. B. Hill Company who oversaw the boat's trek. Photo undated but probably February 1955.