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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- Burlington Street Department Buildings - Equipment
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Dec. 13, 1937. Snow plow in operation, possibly at the Burlington Airport.
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Undated photograph. Original caption reads: "Sno-go Rotary Snow Plow and Blower shown in a demonstration at the City of Burlington's Street Department, Central Plant, located at Pine Street."
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- Burlington Street Department Buildings - Equipment
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Undated but may be 1940 photo taken at the Burlington Street Dept's plant of the Walter Snow Fighter Truck with snow blower equipment attachment, Snow King Rotary Plow.
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- Burlington Street Department Buildings - Equipment
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Undated photograph of a snow plow in operation, possibly at the Burlington Airport. Embossed with McAllister name and Burlington, Vt.
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- Burlington Street Department Buildings - Equipment
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1930s or 1940s photograph of a Burlington Street Dept. snow plow/blower (front view)
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- Burlington Street Department Buildings - Equipment
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1930s or 1940s photo of Burlington Street Dept. snow plow (?) vehicle.
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- Burlington Street Department Buildings - Equipment
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1930s or 1940s photograph of a Burlington Street Dept. snow plow/blower (side view)
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- Burlington Street Department Buildings - Equipment
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1930s or 1940s photograph of a Burlington Street Dept. snow plow/blower
- Title
- Burlington Street Department Buildings - Equipment (4X5)
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Photograph dated Feb. 22, 1940. Original caption reads: "The Snow King Rotary Plow operated by the Walter Snow Fighter Truck blowing heavy frozen snow on the shoulder of the Burlington Municipal Airport runways. Both the north-south and the east-west runways were opened for a width of 250 feet...
Show morePhotograph dated Feb. 22, 1940. Original caption reads: "The Snow King Rotary Plow operated by the Walter Snow Fighter Truck blowing heavy frozen snow on the shoulder of the Burlington Municipal Airport runways. Both the north-south and the east-west runways were opened for a width of 250 feet and for a length of 3,600 feet after each storm, the snow being plowed back into windrows from which it is blown as seen in the picture. A total of sixty-six hours work with the Rotary Plow was necessary to dispose of the entire amount of snow accumulated on the two runways, taxi-strip and hangar areas over the period from February 11, 1940 to February 22, 1940, inclusive, during which time the Weather Bureau reported a total snow fall of 11.8 inches, some of which was combined with several hours of rain and a lowering of the temperature to sub-zero weather.
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