City Hall photograph collection

Edwin Clay Timanus (1863-1923) was Mayor of Baltimore from 1904-1907, having previously served as a member of the Public Service Commission, and as a City Council President, assuming the mayoralty upon the death of Mayor Robert M. McLane. He became mayor just a few months after the 1904 Baltimore Fire, taking on the difficult task of rebuilding the business district. He also began the construction of a new sewer system, and other city improvements. Born in Baltimore, Timanus was educated in public schools, went to work in his father's business supplying coal, wood and feed, and became a member of the Corn and Flour Exchange, a precursor to the Chamber of Commerce.

J. Barry Mahool (1870-1935) was Mayor of Baltimore from 1907-1911. Born in Pheonix, Baltimore Co., he attended public schools and entered the grain business in Baltimore in 1884, going into public office in 1903 upon his election to the City Council. Re-elected in 1905, he became a City Council President, then became the Democratic mayoral nominee, defeating incumbant E. Clay Timanus in the general election. At age 36, he was then the youngest person to be elected mayor. He ran for re-election in 1911, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by James H. Preston. In 1918, he returned briefly to the City Council, replacing a deceased council member, but was unsuccessful in his attempt to be nominated for the post at the next primary election.

James Harry Preston (1860-1938) was elected mayor of Baltimore in 1911, serving two consecutive terms from 1911 to 1919. Born near Dear Creek in Harford County, his family moved to a farm near Belair in 1867, where Preston attended public schools. He attended college at St. John's College in Annapolis, then studied law at the University of Maryland, graduating in 1881. After establishing himself in a law practice, he was elected to the House of Delegates in 1889, was re-elected in 1893, and became Speaker in 1894. He eventually became involved in Baltimore city politics, being appointed to the Board of Police Commissioners in 1904. In 1910 he ran unsuccessfully for Congress, but was successful in his 1911 bid for Mayor of Baltimore, defeating J. Barry Mahool in the Democratic primary, and E. Clay Timanus in the general election.

As mayor, Preston established many elements of Baltimore city's modern infrastructure: the completion of the sewerage and water systems, paving many roads and building others, providing the impetus for the formation of the Baltimore Symphony, and the establishment of a city flag. In Preston's third campaign for mayor in 1919, he formed a ticket with his long-time Comptroller James F. Thrift (d. 1961) and J. Barry Mahool, who was a pro tem. city council member seeking election to the seat; the ticket lost in the primary to George Weems Williams, who lost the general election to William F. Broening.