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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- Description
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View of the base of Colchester Ave at the Winooski Bridge near Barrett Street. Possibly 487 Colchester. Automobiles are parked along the store front of a corner grocery or convenience store (that may be owned by Ernest C. Potvin as listed in the 1929 Burlington City Directory) that advertises...
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Show moreUndated but may be from around 1930. This is a neighborhood grocery store located at the intersection of Riverside Ave and Intervale Ave. This photo appears in "Images of America Burlington, Vol. 2, p. 60. Authors suggest this store may have been owned by Sophia Saiger as she is listed as being a grocer in the 1930 city directory and residing at 178 Intervale Ave.
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Scene in a bookstore or convenience store. Saturday Evening Post edition on display is dated Oct. 2, 1943. Store personnel look on attentively as a soldier and a man--either a customer or manager--discuss some item in the Post. Business and purpose of photo unknown, but advertising or trade...
Show moreScene in a bookstore or convenience store. Saturday Evening Post edition on display is dated Oct. 2, 1943. Store personnel look on attentively as a soldier and a man--either a customer or manager--discuss some item in the Post. Business and purpose of photo unknown, but advertising or trade illustration likely.
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Bookstore or magazine shop (see mcalB18F29i11). Employees and a customer (?) looking at the Saturday Evening Post (edition dated 2 Oct., 1943). Selection seems to have mostly popular and pulp fiction titles.