Spruce

Talk about a production: The Wilma Theater is pulling out all stops for the groundbreaking of its new digs at the northeast corner of Broad and Spruce streets. In grand showbiz tradition, the Wilma has promised "a plethora of local actors" and a 110-piece marching band - plus a brief dramatic spectacle of unspecified authorship - for Thursday morning's historic shovel-tilting, to which you and I have been cordially invited. Historic? You betcha. The new Wilma will be the first new theater built in Center City since the Forrest went up in 1928.

The Wilma Theater is "deep into negotiations" for a new address on Broad Street. Managing director W. Courtenay Wilson confirms that talks have been under way for some weeks with an unnamed developer to place a new 300-seat playhouse in a multi-use complex proposed for the northeast corner of Broad and Spruce streets, adjacent to the Hershey Hotel and diagonally across from the site of the new Philadelphia Orchestra concert hall. The Wilma would occupy some 22,000 square feet of space located on three floors, to include, in addition to the theater, offices, studios, a technical shop and a lobby.

You don't have to spy a stand of daffodils to catch spring fever. It starts with the first hint of balminess and continues as the urge to refresh and renew our homes becomes overpowering. To help you focus on the months ahead, consider that: March is a good time to think of what you'd like your home to be. More versatile? Perhaps your rooms can multitask. A home office can double as a guest room, a dining room as a crafts space. Consider versatile furniture, such as sleeper sofas and consoles with storage, to get you there.

For the Reeds, a 1986 Mother's Day snapshot suddenly has more poignancy. There's mother Kathy standing with Michelle, then 5, and Bob, then 1 1/2. And there, just behind them, in front of the porch, is a scrawny little blue spruce, less than five feet tall. Over the years, the children grew. Michelle, 20, is in college. Bob is 16. But the tree grew faster. It got to be a lush 25 feet high. Its branches began to block the front walk. Its roots were surely threatening the septic system.

Driving along Clements Bridge Road, toward the Deptford Mall, there's not much to see. "Right now when you look at the area, it's generally blah," said Township Manager Joe Picardi. The township is planning to spruce up the area. In the coming weeks, the township will be installing 32 old-fashioned lights, 50 feet apart, along the concrete median that divides the strip off Route 42. "Clements Bridge Road is one of the main thoroughfares in the township; it's one of the first look-sees that you get of [Deptford]

With the weather finally permitting, Port Richmond residents spruce up the Veterans of Foreign Wars memorial at Somerset and Aramingo, getting it ready for Memorial Day. Kathleen Boyce (right) planted petunias yesterday while Dom Guarracino watered them.

Paris Wine Bar 2301 Fairmount Ave. 215-978-4545 www.londongrill.com Tria Cafe * Rittenhouse Square 18th and Sansom streets 215-972-8742 http://triacafe.com * Washington Square West 12th and Spruce streets 215-629-9200 Tria Wine Room 3131 Walnut St. 215-222-2422

The new Family Court will be one story taller than originally planned, but the Philadelphia Art Commission told the architects Wednesday to beautify the building's roof to improve the neighbors' view. The Art Commission, which regulates public building designs, delayed a vote last month on increasing the court's height to 15 stories after neighbors said they needed time to evaluate the proposal. It was not clear then whether the extra story complied with height restrictions, but commissioners have since determined that it would.

THE REVITALIZATION of McPherson Square Park and library, a notorious haven for blatant drug use, moved a step forward yesterday as Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez pledged $100,000 from her capital budget. "When people take ownership of something, government responds," she told neighbors gathered in the basement of the library on F Street near Indiana Avenue, in Kensington. "I am super-happy about this," said 33rd Ward leader Donna Aument. "We've been struggling for years because there wasn't enough police activity to chase the drugs away.

ONCE YOU'VE GONE to prison, made porn films and been on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew ," collaborating with Damon Feldman seems a logical career trajectory. Amy Fisher , who went to prison for shooting her boyfriend's wife in the face long before she launched her porn career, will be dancing at the Oasis Gentlemen's Club (5200 Essington) from Thursday to Saturday. On Friday she will be taking boxing lessons from Feldman in preparation for an upcoming match she's fighting out of town.

FOR THE PAST several months, South Broad Street passers-by couldn't miss the mountain of garbage on the lot next to Broad Street Ministry, between Spruce and Pine, which looked like a postapocalyptic art project. That's where members of the Miss Rockaway Armada collective were busy constructing boats and floats out of other people's trash for a mobile public art exhibit called "Let Me Tell You About a Dream I Had. " Some of the structures are water-worthy and will set sail on the Schuylkill from the Walnut Street dock for a vaudeville-themed performance this weekend.

CHARLESTON, S.C. - A $5.5 million, 18-month face-lift has given a new look to the Charleston City Market, among the oldest such markets in the nation and one of the most popular attractions in this coastal city that attracts millions of visitors each year. "Everything exceeded our expectations. It turned out better than we imagined," said Barry Newton, the general manager of the market. Repairs and spruce-ups were needed for the four buildings, which date to the early 1800s and were last improved almost 40 years ago. In all, the market buildings encompass 37,000 square feet and have almost 150 vendors.

We all know the philosophy, whether via the Bible or the Byrds: To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose. It's just common sense - and good dollars and cents - that this is not the season to accomplish certain things around the house. When the temperature is tickling 100, it's not the time to plant trees and shrubs - unless you're really into pulling up dead flora and spending money to replace it. But there are quite a few projects - do-it-yourself or do-it-by-hire - that can be accomplished in air-conditioned indoor comfort or outside in the early morning or early evening, when the sun is less than blazing hot. Consider this your summertime punch list.

Wildwood "is all about sensory overload," says Patrick Rosenello , who runs Cap'n Jack's Boardwalk bar and a nearby Stewart's Root Beer franchise, along with two nonprofit business-tax and service districts - the Wildwoods Boardwalk Special Improvement District, and the downtown Wildwood Business Improvement District. The Boardwalk district, funded by Morey's Piers and other business owners, plus sponsors led by Coca-Cola , claims credit for brightening Wildwood's worn ocean-side retail strip with paint and regular cleaning, and for tilting the business mix a little more tow.ard sit-down restaurants and away from live-hermit-crab shops.

Police are looking for the vandals who stole the "Philadelphia" from a banner at the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Society Hill. The banner is not part of the memorial itself, but is attached to the wall surrounding the park in which it is located. Police say the theft occurred over the weekend. The memorial is located at Spruce and Front Streets.

Sister Micheletta McGee, 67, a Sister of Mercy who helped manage a residence for former homeless women, died Sunday, April 17, at McAuley Convent in Merion. Since 1996, Sister Micheletta had been program coordinator at Bethesda Spruce in Center City. The residence is home to 16 women who cope with chronic mental illness. Staff and volunteers provide the women with medication supervision, financial management assistance, and life skills training. Bethesda Spruce is part of the Bethesda Project, a nonprofit provider of services and housing for the homeless in Philadelphia.