Lizzie’s Jury – Dining out on their “15 Minutes of Fame”

After the acquittal was turned in by 12 good men and true in short order on June 20, 1893, Lizzie returned to Fall River and her champions returned to regular, unremarkable lives once more. It’s hard to know if anything as exciting as the Trial of the Century ever happened to these men again in their lifetimes. After sitting for a dignified portrait, which they presented to Lizzie as a souvenir and remembrance (one would think she would prefer to forget it), the gentlemen decided to re-live past glories by holding an annual luncheon for themselves at the famous Revere House Hotel and Restaurant on Bowdoin Square in Boston. The Revere House was an upper crust establishment, frequented by Boston’s notables and boasted superb chefs and impressive menus, catering to society’s special needs.

It would be interesting to have eavesdropped on the conversation at their table at these annual assemblies. Did they drink a toast to Lizzie or share reminiscences of their moments in the national spotlight? The Revere House Restaurant and Hotel was built in 1847, beginning as the former residence of a prosperous Boston merchant and burned in January, 1912 in an horrific fire which killed twelve people. It is not certain just how long Lizzie’s jury met annually or if, after the fire they relocated to another fine eatery to mark the occasion of her acquittal and their part in history.

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/01/30/throwback-thursday-revere-house-hotel-burned/