Wenham Street Cinema is permanently closed (THANK YOU for the memories!)
Matt Shuman
I wanted to write to share some news as well as express some deeply-felt gratitude.
It was hard to leave Wenham, but last month my wife Amy, son Caleb, and I moved about a mile north to a new home near the Monument. I arrived on Wenham Street in 2012, a few years after that I - along with my friend Jesse Abbruzzese - started the Wenham Street Cinema. Over time it grew to be a part of my life that brought me great joy, something I was very happy to share with neighbors and friends.
It simply would not have been possible without the tremendous generosity, kindness, and support of you all. Your encouragement, notes of thanks, and most of all, participation, helped transform an inert and sometimes dank garage into a place that fostered, at least on its best days, connection, smiles, and fond memories.
In particular, I want to thank my former upstairs neighbor Laura, who showed extraordinary kindness and generosity in allowing us to use her portion of the garage, and our neighbors to the side, Mike and Lip, who provided untold material, emotional, and technical support over the 9 years we held events. A huge thank you to my friend Ken Sazama who arranged for his real estate company to buy us a very good sound system. Lastly, I want to thank the neighbors closest to the garage who easily could have asked that I not blare Christopher Nolan movies at 9pm, but instead welcomed my events, came often, and encouraged me: Mary and Amelia, Andre and Sam, Virginie, RuDa and John, Madi, Pete and Rebecca - thank you!
Wenham Street Cinema is now officially closed. I will remember it - and your remarkable support - forever.
With gratitude,
Matt Shuman
Formerly of 23 Wenham Street
