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The HI-FI Annex will get a permanent home in 1,200-capacity venue expected to open in 2026

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The HI-FI Annex will get a permanent home in 1,200-capacity venue expected to open in 2026

The HI-FI in Fountain Square announced plans Monday to upgrade their Fountain Square space to improve patrons’ experience.

Owners of the HI-FI and local promoter MOKB Presents announced the construction of a new indoor venue at the Murphy Arts Center, 1043 Virginia Ave. The 1,200-capacity space, expected to open in early 2026, will be a permanent home to the HI-FI Annex, which is currently a temporary, tentatively named outdoor venue on the same site.

HI-FI Annex was born during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when traditional performance venues were shuttered and health and safety guidelines moved larger events outside. But the Annex persisted after restrictions lifted.

“When we opened our first venue, we didn’t have a detailed plan, but we did have a vision,” Josh Baker, partner and CEO of HI-FI & MOKB Presents, said in a written statement. “It’s been a humbling journey filled with unexpected challenges, adaptation, and getting really lucky. With each expansion and renovation, we’ve moved closer to realizing our dream of creating a multifaceted entertainment and arts facility.”

HI-FI includes three venues: HI-FI, LO-FI Lounge and the HI-FI Annex. In the last 10 years, promoters say those venues have welcomed more than 500,000 visitors.

The new space is expected to double the capacity of the Annex’s current outdoor space and will include what promoters described as “underground, speakeasy-style room for intimate gatherings and pre- and post-show events.”

Fountain Square has a long history in Indianapolis’ arts and entertainment scene and was once home to multiple 1,000+ seat theaters. The new venue will exist on the site of the former Granada Theater, now known as the Murphy Arts Center.

The 1,400-seat Granada opened in Fountain Square in the spring of 1928 as the city’s second Universal Pictures theater, according to the Fountain Square Neighborhood Association. Admission at the time was 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children, and it was the first theater in the city to screen an international film with sound — “Tierra Madre” in 1932. The Granada was shuttered in 1951, and the adjacent G.C. Murphy department store expanded into its previous space.

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“This neighborhood was built on entertainment,” Baker said in a written statement. “After being separated from the city by the creation of the I-65 interstate (in the late ’60s and early ’70s), it lost much of its audience and regular traffic. HI-FI, along with our fellow Fountain Square businesses, has been aggressively working to recreate the elements that long defined this area.”

Construction on the new indoor space is expected to take place throughout the HI-FI Annex’s final season, which runs April to October of next year. A full schedule has yet to be announced, but shows currently announced include Ninja Sex Party and TWRP, Leprous and Nicotine Dolls.

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Contact IndyStar pop culture reporter Holly Hays at holly.hays@indystar.com. Follow her on X/Twitter: @hollyvhays.

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