By LYNN STEINBERG
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Greenwood has long had a theater on North 85th Street. But it wasn't always worth the price of admission. Where the Taproot Theatre now stages everything from musicals to murder mysteries in a lovely and intimate setting, there used to be martial arts films and porno flicks.

Taproot, which used to lease space in churches and schools, bought the building in 1988 but didn't start producing there until 1996. It took that long for a devoted corps of volunteers, occasionally assisted by contractors, to renovate the space.

The roof leaked, so whenever it rained, patrons played musical chairs, trying to find a dry spot. They alternated among couches, airline seats, folding chairs, whatever there was. Only a dozen or so of the seats matched.

The building, which opened as a family theater in the 1920s, needed new wiring, flooring, plumbing and interior walls.

"It was a massive undertaking," says managing director Sean Gaffney. The opening season was twice delayed.

Gaffney lives around the corner from the theater, in an apartment above Romio's Pizzaria, and he has come to love this place he calls home.

"This neighborhood is blossoming," he says. "It's becoming more and more a destination."