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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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Portrait photo of a choral group of young men and women, possibly high school students with their director.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Six male and five female graduates are assembled outside for a group graduation photo. They wear cap and grown with the tassel on the left side. They do not hold any diplomas.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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1940 graduating class group portrait. The men are dressed in suit and tie. The women in solid light colored dresses. They all carry their diplomas. Baskets of flowers are displayed in the front.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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A large group of young people along with a few older adults gather at a rustic restaurant(?) for a special meal and event.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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A large group of young people and two older women gathered in a wood paneled, wood floor room for a photo portrait.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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A large group of young people along with a few older adults gather at a rustic restaurant(?) for a special meal and event.
- Title
- Portraits, groups, unidentified
- Description
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Portrait photo of a choral group of young men and women, possibly high school students with their director.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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A group of young men and women pose for a portrait in a rustic wood paneled room (perhaps a restaurant?) Two older women sit in front. Two paintings are on the wall; one of a barn and one of an outdoor scene. Photo #1.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Several young men (high school students?) stand outside on the steps of what may be Edmunds High School in Burlington, Vermont for a group photo. Undated but may be 1930s. Photo #2.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Three female and four male graduates assemble outside for a group portrait with another man (perhaps a teacher or school official). The graduates wear cap and gown with the tassel on the left side. They do not hold any diplomas.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Portrait photo of a choral group of young men and women, possibly high school students with their director.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Five uniformed (Catholic?) girls pose for a portrait with five young men dressed in suit and tie. See also mcalA15F07i32
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Church Youth Choir. Unidentified and undated. Photo #16
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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A large group of young men and young women gather near dining tables in a wood paneled room for a photo portrait. The boys are assembled at the left and the girls to the right. A moose head hangs high on the back wall.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Six male and five female graduates are assembled outside for a group graduation photo. They wear cap and grown with the tassel on the left side. They do not hold any diplomas.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Group of young men and women with an older man, perhaps their choir director.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Five young men wearing overcoats are gathered outside of a large brick building for a group photo. They are sitting just to the left of the stairs seen in mcalA18F11i26 (wide granite or marble slabs on the railing and the lamppost are identical). So far the identity of the building remains...
Show moreFive young men wearing overcoats are gathered outside of a large brick building for a group photo. They are sitting just to the left of the stairs seen in mcalA18F11i26 (wide granite or marble slabs on the railing and the lamppost are identical). So far the identity of the building remains unknown. Occasion of the photo is unknown as well.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Photo of a choir rehearsing. They are dressed in choir robes and sit in wooden folding chairs in a room with a picture of Christ on the back wall. Photo #10.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Six male and five female graduates are assembled outside for a group graduation photo. They wear cap and grown with the tassel on the left side. They do not hold any diplomas.
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- Portraits, groups, unidentified
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Graduates (men and women) assembled near a stage for a group portrait. All wear graduation cap and gown with the tassels on the right side. They all hold diplomas. The girls also each hold a bouquet of flowers and the boys each wear a corsage.