Tradition says the area was named for Canton, China, the origin of cargo coming through the docks located there. The Canton Improvement Association was incorporated in 1970, initially formed in opposition to the extension of I-83 through the community. The association also represented the Canton neighborhood at local and city-wide events like the Fells Point Fun Festival and the City Fair. The organization was successful in having Canton placed on the National Register as a historic district, enlisting volunteers to survey and classify area properties, and prevented the closing of the Canton branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The collection consists of 1 box with 7 folders containing 100 photoprints and 12 negatives, which are undated or dated 1973-1985.
Subjects are mostly unidentified, but include residential and industrial views in the Canton area.
Specific structures include Canton Methodist Church, St. Brigid s 2 nd Church, Canton Evangelical, and the Enoch Pratt Free Library branch at Ellwood and O Donnell Sts. Other images include Canton homes and businesses, recreation facilities, industrial apparatus, and decrepit sites and structures. Collection also includes 2 folders of printed ephemera, including maps, invitations, programs, and brochures pertaining to organizations and community events in Baltimore in the 1970s and 1980s. 2722, the Canton Improvement Association Papers. Box 1, Folder 2 Polaroid photoprints, n.d.