Baltimore Equitable Insurance also known as the Baltimore Equitable Society, until 2003 was located at the original headquarters of the Eutaw Savings Bank, is a historic bank building located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Originally built as the headquarters for the Eutaw Savings Bank, it is a two-story building with brownstone front and brick sides. It was constructed in 1857 in the Italian Renaissance style. The Eutaw Savings Bank moved across the street in 1887 to what is now the Baltimore Grand and the building was acquired by the Baltimore Equitable Society in 1889. Founded in 1794, the Baltimore Equitable Society is one of the oldest corporations in the city and the third-oldest fire insurance company in the United States. The building that housed Baltimore Equitable Insurance was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. In 2003, due to the age and state of disrepair of the building, Baltimore Equitable Insurance left the building. As of 2023, the building will become the M&T Pavilion, an entertainment space. Fire mark The Sign of the Clasped Hands, frequently seen on the exterior of houses in the region, means that the home is (or was) insured by the Baltimore Equitable Society (Baltimore Equitable Insurance). The Society chose the clasped hands, depicting the hand of the company and the hand of the policy holder shaking, to symbolize the agreement by both parties to the contract of insurance. Called a “fire mark,” this sign of coverage was once just as important as the paper policy document. The society still gives the fire mark to any person insured with Baltimore Equitable who wishes to receive it. It is numbered and painted in the traditional black with gold leaf. History On January 21, 1794, a number of respectable citizens assembled to establish a fire insurance company similar to that created in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin. This meeting gave rise to the birth of the Baltimore Equitable Society. By February 10, 1794, a constitution had been drawn to govern the new company, the Baltimore Equitable Society for Insuring of Houses From Loss By Fire. Policy Number 1 was issued on April 10, 1794 to Humphrey Pierce on his three-story brick house on Baltimore Street. By December 27 of its first year of operation, the Society was incorporated, making it older than Baltimore City itself, which was not incorporated until three years later. At the conclusion