Aerodrome "Nest" Construction - 1909

This image was derived from microfilm records of an Indianapolis News photograph originally published September 17, 1909. It shows the Indianapolis Motor Speedway aerodrome, designed specifically to house aircraft - including balloons and dirigibles. The aerodrome was the central piece of an extensive effort emblematic of the vision and interests of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway founders, especially Speedway President Carl Fisher.
 
Fisher was a promoter extraordinaire but also a man fascinated with the possibilities of technology and its potential impact on the lives of people. The aerodrome housed shop equipment for working on aircraft and complemented the garages, gasoline and gas company pipes for balloon inflation already in place. An added benefit of the Brickyard as an airfield was that it offered enclosed grounds for "secret" flights. The track's June 13 - 18 1910, aviation show was one of the first ever conducted in America.
 
Here's the cutline that complemented the photograph way back in good old 1909.
"The new motor speedway aerodrome which is almost completed is located near the bleacher seats. It is three hundred feet long, sixty feet wide and one hundred feet high. It has space for ten aeroplanes and two dirigible balloons, fully inflated. The building is open at each end and it is planned to fly the dirigible balloons through it, as a part of a program of maneuvers planned for the balloon and aeroplane races set for October 14 and 15."
 
The October air show referenced in the cutline was canceled due to a lack of entries. Also, other sources say the structure was nicknamed, "The Nest."