Louis L. McAllister Photographs
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). 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
Showing 1 - 10 of 127 Records
Stores - Sherwin-Williams Paints (Burlington, VT)
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- Date Created: undated
- Description: 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.)
- Parent Collections: Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Burlington Streets: Home Ave.
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- Date Created: 1934
- Description: May 2, 1934. South End P.W.A. Sewer Project Docket No. 2353 A Section of Home Avenue near Wells Street. Note that ledge is encountered the entire depth from ground level to grade of sewer. The truck appears to contain the power source via tubing for the hand-held jack hammer one of the workmen holds.
- Parent Collections: Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Burlington Streets: Lakeside Ave
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- Date Created: 1945-12-05
- Description: December 5, 1945. City of Burlington, Vermont, Street Department. Lakeside Ave. Pavement Base Construction. This view was taken from a point near the intersection of Conger Ave. looking westerly toward the Lake Champlain. The new factory building just completed for the Blodgett Co. is shown with parking area base recently constructed between the street line and the building. Note the asphalt emulsion stabilized base which was mixed the previous day before taking this picture. Cold weather and frost conditions had frozen the base mixture on the left half of the street but the job was continued on the north half in spite of the low temperatures as the street had to be put in condition to receive traffic for the winter, this street being on a regular bus line. The job was continued by placing a 2 inch layer of crushed stone on this stabilized base and penetrating the same with asphalt emulsion and covering with concrete sand as a "blotter" for the winter and then opened to traffic. This project will be continued to completion in the spring by constructing an integral concrete curb and gutter on the south side of a 3 inch hot plant mix wearing surface over the entire pavement area. Note the asphalt distributor applying emulsion and the tractor and harrow mixing the base.
- Parent Collections: Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Burlington Streets: Ledge Road
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- Date Created: 1935-10-09
- Description: October 9, 1935 view of intersection of Route 7 (Shelburne Road or Street) and bottom of Ledge Road as it ascends up hill to the east. City street dept workmen do road or sewer construction. A dept. truck supplies power.
- Parent Collections: Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Burlington Streets: Main Street (Upper)
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- Description: Street dept crew resurfacing a portion of Main Street. Seen are several dept vehicles tamping the asphalt, spraying water to keep the dust down and unloading the asphalt. Undated (1930s?)
- Parent Collections: Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Camp Marycrest - Activities
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- Description: 1959 photo of a truck decorated as a boat that is part of parade at Camp Marycrest. Campers dressed as Indians "paddle" the boat. They are commemorating the 350th landing of Samuel de Champlain on the shores of the lake of 1609.
- Parent Collections: Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Burlington Street Department Buildings - Equipment (4X5)
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- Date Created: 1940-02-22
- Description: 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 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.
- Parent Collections: Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Burlington Dump
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- Date Created: 1944-03-08
- Description: March 8, 1944. This view shows a section of the Salvage Depot as a load of baled salvage paper was being loaded and hauled to the car by the Burlington Paper Stock Co. to whom all salvage paper is being sold. This load contained 45 bales having a total weight of approximately 2 1/2 tons.
- Parent Collections: Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Fort Ethan Allen Artillery Range (Underhill)
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- Description: Convoy of military trucks on the road. Railroad tracks along side of the road. Photo #23.
- Parent Collections: Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Portraits - Unidentified Groups
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- Date Created: 1935-1936
- Description: Over exposed 1935 / 1936 winter photo of a group of well-dressed, influential men standing in front of an airplane, presumably at Burlington Int'l Airport. On the left is a delivery truck owned by Railway Express Agency, which had headquarters at 111 St. Paul St., Burlington. The City Directory lists Herbert E. Fitch as agent. Also on the left: a boy with his dog that lays on a crate with sign "Live Dog". Occasion and purpose of photo unknown.
- Parent Collections: Louis L. McAllister Photographs