INDIANAPOLIS -- The south side building where then-Senator John F. Kennedy made his only speech in Indianapolis could soon be under renovation – at the expense of the current tenants, who were told earlier this month they have to be out by May.
The 5th Quarter Lounge officially opened at 306 Prospect Street on May 1, 2014 (it was first opened as Indy's Jukebox by former Vollrath employees after that venue closed). The crowd it caters to likes its music loud; the last few weeks of bookings show metal dominates the lineup, although the bar lists punk acoustic and rockabilly on its banner. For those not satisfied with just listening, the bar hosts regular metal karaoke nights.
But the music gets unplugged once the bar's lease runs out in April. The building's owner, who declined to be interviewed, informed 5th Quarter's manager Shannon Wood earlier this month that he was selling the building. The new buyer plans on turning it into insurance offices.
Wood says he was flattened by the news.
"It was pretty devastating. Everyone in business would like at least six months or so in order to do something … but it is what it is," he said.
Above: 5th Quarter Lounge manager Shannon Wood
Wood works a full-time job during the day and runs the bar at night with his fiancée, Mona DeMaggio. For the last three years they've poured their time, their energy and their money into the business.
Wood says the bar was "doing great" and was blindsided by the news the building was being sold. He wishes they'd been given more notice.
"You know, I found a place, but it's unfortunately not going to be ready in two months," he said. "If we'd have had a little more time, we could have had a little more effort in it, we could have done a few more things and gotten everything together and probably just moved from here to there. But it can take up to six months to get zoned. It can take six, seven, eight months to get a liquor license approved. And then of course you've got all your build-out, because it doesn't have a bar in it. It's just a space."
Click on the image above to see a gallery of photos from the 5th Quarter Lounge and the historic Southside Turners building.
For DeMaggio, who books all of 5th Quarter's shows, the loss is personal.
"I just am a metalhead. I love metal," she said. "So when we came here, the first couple years here, we booked nothing but metal. We just loved it. I just love music. My dad's the same way."
Above: Mona DeMaggio books all the musical acts at the 5th Quarter Lounge.
"I feel lost. I feel like half of me is gone," she continued. "I feel bad for our staff that’s getting thrown in the street, so to speak. I obviously have to find a job as well. And I can't imagine doing anything but music. So it's very difficult on me."
DeMaggio says she and Wood have been out looking for new locations every day. But the short notice and the prohibitive cost of a liquor license always stand in their way.
"If we'd known this earlier we probably could have saved money for a liquor license," she said. "I was booked out until September when I found this out, so I had to cancel a lot of shows. It's a bummer."
If the walls could talk
The building's potential buyer also declined to be interviewed for this story, but told RTV6 they have restored other historic buildings in the past.
In that regard, at least, the weathered brick building at 306 Prospect Street seems a prime candidate.
Before it was the home of the 5th Quarter Lounge – or the Madison Avenue Athletic Club, which rents out the old gymnasium in the building – the building was known as the Southside Turnverein, or the Southside Turners Club.
GALLERY | See photos from inside the historic Southside Turners building
German-American immigrants to Indianapolis in the 19th and early 20th centuries brought with them a heavy cultural emphasis on physical fitness and athletic prowess.
To that end, they erected "turnvereins," or athletic clubs, around the city. Many of them, like the building on Prospect Street, stand to this day.
The turnverein at 902 N. Meridian Street was built in 1914 following the design of Adolf Scherrer, who also designed the Indiana State House. It now operates as The Turnverein Apartments under the management of Van Rooy Properties.
In the 1890s, the architectural firm of Vonnegut & Bohn – co-founded by author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s grandfather Bernard Vonnegut Sr. – was commissioned to build a turnverein known originally as Das Deutsche Haus. It still operates today as the Athenaeum at 401 E. Michigan Street, and still houses a gym, now operated by the YMCA.
Vonnegut & Bohn designed another turnverein as well – the building at 306 Prospect Street that would become the Southside Turners Club.
Above: The building is adorned on one side with a large sculpture designed by Rudolph Schwarz, who also designed the "War" and "Peace" sculptures for downtown's Monument Circle.
In 1959, a U.S. senator with presidential aspirations named John F. Kennedy made his one and only speech in Indianapolis – and he did it at the Southside Turners building.
After that high-point, though, the building gradually fell into disuse and disrepair.
Now, after work is over for the day, the building hosts recreational basketball games in the old gym upstairs. And, at night, it hosts DeMaggio and her metalheads.
In a last-ditch effort to raise enough money for a new liquor license, 5th Quarter Lounge will be having a two-day "Farewell to the 5th" benefit show on April 28-29. Sixteen bands have agreed to play the event, with proceeds going toward that license.
DeMaggio says she just keeps hoping for a miracle – for someone to swoop in and offer them a helping hand.
"I feel like we let everybody down," she said. "And, really, I gave up my whole life for this. I haven't seen my family but once a year. I'm here all the time. And it's not because we're making millions. It's just because we love the music."
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