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Kensington Market history - an image of the north side of Baldwin St. showing how it looked in the 1950s and how it looks now.
Kensington Street View: Baldwin Street, looking West. Photos courtesy of Library and Archives Canada (R3133-0-6-E), and Liz Gallin.

Kensington Market is a richly multicultural downtown neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada. Home to successive waves of immigration throughout the 20th century, the marketplace developed as Victorian homes were transformed into shops, first by Eastern Europeans, then by groups of immigrants from Italy, Portugal, the Caribbean, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Typically, people both lived and worked in the Market, thereby creating a vibrant street life that continues today. Its affordable rents, tolerant attitudes and Old World sensibilities have attracted both new Canadians and non-conformists – artists, start-up entrepreneurs, hippies, punks and activists. The neighbourhood is a microcosm of Toronto’s diversity and remains remarkable as a place where authenticity and change coexist.

Kensington Market Historical Society gathers, studies, preserves, and disseminates information pertaining to the history of the Kensington Market area. KMHS is committed to discovering and articulating the variable narratives of the Market. We hold public events, publish a newsletter, and undertake research and other projects as interest and expertise permit. We welcome and encourage involvement from the community.