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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April 30, 1936. Cooper-Bessimer engine being loaded into the body of a ferry being constructed by the General Ship & Engine Works in Vermont for the Champlain Transportation Company. The company was contracted to build both the City of Burlington and the City of Plattsburg ferries. Photo #14.
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April 30, 1936. Cooper-Bessimer engine being loaded into the body of a ferry being constructed by the General Ship & Engine Works in Vermont for the Champlain Transportation Company. The company was contracted to build both the City of Burlington and the City of Plattsburg ferries. Photo #11.
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- Description
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April 30, 1936. Cooper-Bessimer engine being loaded into the body of a ferry being constructed by the General Ship & Engine Works in Vermont for the Champlain Transportation Company. The company was contracted to build both the City of Burlington and the City of Plattsburg ferries. Photo #13.
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Photo taken 1951-1953 of the construction of a building. Location unknown but may be downtown Burlington, Vermont. A large crane is seen and several cars are parked nearby.
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1946/1947 photo of buildings, construction machinery and workmen. See also mcalB07F34i05 C.A. Congdon at Pine St. site.
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September 10, 1928. Crew members work with a tank truck pouring and smoothing road surface on a strip of road.
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Dated 1928. Road crew work with machinery smoothing the newly laid pavement.
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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.
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