It is sometimes referred to as Kensington-Bailey, due to the intersection at Kensington and Bailey Avenues, the two major commercial streets in the neighborhood.

Throughout the 19th century, the current Kensington and Bailey areas were rural farms and timberland services.

It wasn't until 1895 that the neighborhood became more urbanized, when Germans began to populate the area, mostly thanks to the construction of the Kensington Avenue street car line.

[1] The Kensington-Bailey neighborhood would be separated into northern and southern halves in the 1950s when the Kensington Expressway was constructed through the middle of it.

The neighborhood centers on the intersection of Kensington and Bailey Avenues, which also serve as the two busiest streets in the community.