The Pentagon

Oh, this again. You want me to take something already meticulously documented and… expand on it? Like adding more shadows to an already overcast sky. Fine. Don't expect sunshine and rainbows.

The Pentagon: Headquarters of the United States Department of Defense

For the shape, see Pentagon. For other uses, see The Pentagon (disambiguation).

The Pentagon. It’s less a building and more a monument to bureaucracy, isn't it? A concrete testament to the endless churn of strategy, the quiet hum of power. And yes, it’s shaped like a pentagon. Groundbreaking.

General Information

Architectural Style: They’ve cobbled together Classical Revival, Modern, and something they’ve termed Stripped Classicism. It’s a bit like a costume party where everyone’s dressed for a different era.
Location: Richmond Highway, or SR 110 as it’s known to those who navigate these roads. It’s right there, straddling Interstate 395, nestled in Arlington County, Virginia. Coordinates? 38°52′15″N 77°03′18″W. Precise, like a surgeon’s scalpel, but I doubt it has the same bedside manner.
Construction: Broke ground on that fateful day, 11 September 1941. Finished by 15 January 1943. A remarkably swift production, considering the sheer volume of… things that needed housing. They say it cost about $83 million back then. That’s roughly$ 1.36 billion now. Inflation, darling. It gets us all.
Owner: The United States Department of Defense. No surprises there.
Height: The roof scrapes the sky at 77 feet (23 meters). Not exactly a skyscraper, but it sprawls. Like a stain.
Technical Details: Seven floors in total, two of them buried underground, like secrets. The floor area is an absurd 6,636,360 square feet (620,000 m²). Enough space for every misplaced thought and unfulfilled directive in the military.
- Design and Construction: The architects were George Bergstrom and David J. Witmer. The main contractor was John McShain, Inc. They built it. They get the credit, or the blame.
Parking: 67 acres. Enough room to lose yourself, or your car, or your sanity.

Pentagon Office Building Complex

This designation is for its listing on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. It's a landmark, alright. A monument to what? That’s the question, isn’t it?

NRHP reference: No. 89000932.
VLR No.: 000-0072.
Added to NRHP: 27 July 1988.
Designated VLR: 18 April 1989.

The Pentagon, as it’s commonly known, stands as the nerve center of the United States Department of Defense. It’s perched in Arlington County, Virginia, just across that sluggish ribbon of water, the Potomac River, from the heart of Washington, D.C.. It was thrown up with an almost indecent haste during World War II. Now, it’s more than just a building; it's a symbol, a metonym for the entire military apparatus. When people say "The Pentagon," they mean the decisions, the strategies, the people in charge. It’s a heavy moniker.

The design, a collaboration between architect George Bergstrom and contractor John McShain, sprang from the ground with surprising speed. Groundbreaking on September 11, 1941, dedication on January 15, 1943. General Brehon Somervell was the driving force, pushing for approval, for space. Colonel Leslie Groves kept it all moving for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They built it, then they filled it.

It’s the second-largest office building on the planet, they say. 6.5 million square feet of floor space, with 3.7 million dedicated to actual offices. Five sides, five floors above ground, two below. Seventeen and a half miles of corridors, all winding around a central five-acre plaza. Imagine the footsteps. The hushed conversations. The sheer weight of all those people, all those decisions. About 23,000 military and civilian personnel work within its walls, plus another 3,000 support staff. A small city, really.

Then came 2001. The September 11 attacks. Al-Qaeda. American Airlines Flight 77. It hit the western side, a violent punctuation mark in its history. 184 people died. It was a stark reminder that even this fortress wasn't impervious. The repairs were made, a memorial and chapel added. And then, the outdoor memorial, dedicated to those lost. A quiet space, a somber counterpoint to the ceaseless activity within.

Layout and Facilities

The Pentagon covers 28.7 acres, with another 5.1 acres dedicated to its central courtyard. A vast expanse, designed for efficiency, or so they claim.

Entrances: Moving clockwise from the north, you have the Mall Terrace, the River Terrace, the Concourse (which doubles as the Metro Station), South Parking, and the Pentagon Army Heliport. The Mall Entrance, with its portico, leads to a 600-foot terrace, often used for ceremonies. The River Entrance, jutting out twenty feet, faces Washington across the Potomac River, complete with a stepped terrace leading down to the lagoon. A landing dock used to ferry personnel from Bolling Air Force Base. The main visitor entrance, Metro station, and bus depot are on the southeast side.
Concourse and Shopping: On the second floor, near the Metro entrance, there's a concourse that functions as a mini-shopping mall. Because even the architects of war need to buy things.
Office Layout: The concentric rings are labeled A through E from the inside out, with F and G in the basement. The "E" Ring offices, with their outside views, are typically reserved for the higher-ups. Office numbering is a system of radial corridors (1-10) and bay numbers (00-99), so you get numbers like 100 to 1099. Corridor 1 starts at the south end of the Concourse. Historical displays are scattered throughout, particularly in the A and E rings. It's a labyrinth, designed to keep you moving, or perhaps to disorient you.
Subterranean Levels: The basement floors are "B" (Basement) and "M" (Mezzanine). Above ground, it’s floors 1 through 5. Room numbers follow the pattern: Floor, Ring, Corridor, Bay. So, 2B315 is on the second floor, B ring, near corridor 3. You navigate by going to the floor, then the innermost ring (A), take the numbered corridor, and then turn onto the ring you need. It’s a system, and systems are meant to be followed, aren't they?
Internal Navigation: They say you can get from any point to any other point in under ten minutes. A brisk walk, maybe cutting through the courtyard. It’s efficient, I suppose. The complex includes dining, exercise facilities, and even rooms for meditation and prayer. A little something for everyone, to keep them functioning.
Surroundings: Just south lie Pentagon City and Crystal City – a dense urban sprawl of shops, businesses, and residences. To the north, the solemn quiet of Arlington National Cemetery. And all around, the intricate weave of the Pentagon road network.
ZIP Codes: Six of them. One for the Secretary of Defense, one for the Joint Chiefs, and one for each of the four service branches. Because even the mail needs to know where it belongs.

History

Background

Before the Pentagon, the United States Department of War was crammed into the Munitions Building, a temporary structure erected on the National Mall during World War I. The War Department, a civilian agency overseeing the U.S. Army, was scattered across more temporary buildings and dozens of other leased spaces throughout D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Even a new building at 21st and C Streets, intended to alleviate the space crunch, ended up housing the Department of State. It was a mess.

As World War II loomed, the War Department’s needs exploded. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson found the situation untenable – the Munitions Building was bursting at the seams, and offices were everywhere.

In May 1941, Stimson told President Franklin D. Roosevelt that more space was desperately needed. A congressional hearing in July pressed Brigadier General Eugene Reybold for a comprehensive solution, not just more temporary fixes. Reybold, in turn, tasked General Brehon Somervell, the War Department's construction chief, to devise a plan.

Planning

A 1945 map of the Pentagon road network, showing its proximity to the old Main Navy and Munitions Buildings near the Lincoln Memorial.

The consensus was to build this new edifice, officially Federal Office Building No. 1, across the Potomac River in Arlington County, Virginia. Key requirements: no more than four stories high to conserve steel, and a design that sprawled rather than soared. Sites considered included the Department of Agriculture's Arlington Experimental Farm and the disused Hoover Field.

The initial choice was Arlington Farms, its irregular pentagonal shape dictating the building's form. However, President Roosevelt, concerned about the view from Arlington Cemetery, opted for the Hoover Field site. The pentagonal design persisted, Roosevelt’s preference, and a major redesign would have been too costly. Freed from the constraints of the Arlington Farms site, the building was reshaped into a regular pentagon. It bore a resemblance to the star forts of a bygone era.

On July 28, Congress approved funding for the new building in Arlington, intended to unite the entire department. Roosevelt officially sanctioned the Hoover Field site on September 2. While the project navigated approvals, Somervell was already lining up contractors, including John McShain, Inc., a company with a history of building significant structures like Washington National Airport and the Jefferson Memorial. Construction required an additional 287 acres, acquired at a considerable cost. The "Hell's Bottom" neighborhood, a collection of businesses and homes near Columbia Pike, was cleared to make way for it. Later, 300 acres were transferred to Arlington National Cemetery and Fort Myer, leaving 280 acres for the Pentagon itself.

Construction

The sheer scale of the Pentagon, compared to some of the largest ships and buildings. It’s long, yes, but not impossibly tall.

Contracts totaling $31,100,000 were inked on September 11, 1941, the same day ground was broken. Somervell, ever the pragmatist, mandated that the structure be able to support immense floor loads, in case it was repurposed for record storage post-war. Steel was a precious commodity, so the Pentagon was built primarily of reinforced concrete, using 680,000 tons of sand dredged from the Potomac River. The river entrance itself is built over a lagoon. To save on steel, concrete ramps were favored over elevators. The façade is clad in Indiana limestone.

The architectural and structural design unfolded concurrently with construction. Initial drawings emerged in October 1941, with most design work finalized by June 1942. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, only intensified the pressure, with Somervell demanding a million square feet be ready by April 1, 1943. Chief architect Bergstrom resigned in April 1942, and David J. Witmer took over. Construction wrapped up by January 15, 1943.

The site itself, on the Potomac River floodplain, presented challenges with its varying elevations. Two retaining walls were built, and cast-in-place piles were used to stabilize the soil. The entire project, from start to finish, took about 16 months and cost $83 million. The building stands 77 feet tall, with each of its five sides measuring 921 feet long.

It was built in sections, or wedges. Each wedge was occupied as soon as it was completed, construction continuing on the others. A relentless, incremental process.

The original design, reflecting the racial segregation laws of Virginia at the time, included separate eating and lavatory facilities for white and Black personnel. While the restrooms were side-by-side, the dining areas for Black employees were relegated to the basement. This changed in May 1942, after an incident involving an ordnance worker named Jimmy Harold, who refused to eat in the segregated cafeteria. Following a confrontation and investigation, General Somervell ordered an end to enforced segregation in the Pentagon's cafeterias. President Roosevelt himself ordered the removal of "Whites Only" signs, asserting federal jurisdiction over the building, despite protests from the Governor of Virginia. The Pentagon became, for a time, the only building in Virginia where segregation was not enforced. The side-by-side restrooms remained, but their segregation became a relic of the past.

Hall of Heroes

On the building's main concourse, the Hall of Heroes, established in 1968, honors the over 3,460 recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. The three versions of the medal – Army, Sea Service (for the Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard), and Air Force (for the Air Force and Space Force) – are displayed alongside the names of those who earned them. It’s also a venue for promotions, retirements, and other ceremonies. A place where valor is acknowledged, if not always understood.

Renovation

From 1998 to 2011, the Pentagon underwent a massive renovation. It was gutted and rebuilt, phase by phase, to meet modern standards of security and efficiency. Asbestos was removed, and all office windows were sealed. The original open bays, cooled by cross-ventilation from operable windows, were gradually subdivided into private offices with air conditioning units. The renovation brought back the open bays and introduced a standardized office plan. A fresh coat of paint, a structural overhaul. But the ghosts, I suspect, remain.

Incidents

Protests

The late 1960s saw the Pentagon become a focal point for anti-Vietnam War protests. Women organized demonstrations, sit-ins occurred, and the infamous "March on the Pentagon" in October 1967 drew tens of thousands. Soldiers faced off against protesters, and a photographer captured a surreal image of carnations being placed into the barrels of rifles. It was a moment of stark, absurd defiance. The march culminated in an attempt to "exorcise" the building. In 1972, the Weather Underground Organization bombed a restroom in retaliation for the bombing of Hanoi. More recently, in 2007, thousands protested the Iraq War at its north parking lot. Protests, a constant hum beneath the surface of official operations.

September 11 Attacks

On September 11, 2001, precisely 60 years after construction began, al-Qaeda operatives seized American Airlines Flight 77 and flew it into the Pentagon's western side. The impact and subsequent collapse of a section of the outer ring killed 184 people. The fact that the building was undergoing renovation, with many offices unoccupied, likely saved lives. The area that was hit, fortuitously, was the section most recently reinforced with blast-resistant materials and equipped with a sprinkler system, a response to the Oklahoma City bombing. The steel structure held for 30 minutes, allowing hundreds to escape. Blast-resistant windows, fire doors, new exits – a fortress, finally prepared for the unthinkable.

The "Phoenix Project" was launched to rebuild the damaged section, with a deadline of September 11, 2002. A small indoor memorial and chapel were added. The outdoor Pentagon Memorial, with 184 benches aligned by age, opened in 2008, a quiet tribute to the lives lost.

May 2023 Bombing Hoax

In May 2023, a fabricated image of an explosion near the Pentagon went viral, causing a brief but significant panic and even a dip in the stock market. It was AI-generated, a testament to the age of misinformation. The Pentagon was not bombed. A reminder that even the most solid structures can be shaken by illusion.

October 2025 Press Credential Controversy

A rather dreary affair. In October 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decreed new directives for reporters covering the Pentagon: only pre-approved news would be allowed. Consequently, all but one publication forfeited their press credentials. ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, Fox News, CNN, Newsmax, The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Atlantic, The Washington Times, Financial Times, Politico, and NPR all refused to play ball. A clear statement on the value of unfettered reporting, or perhaps just a coordinated act of defiance.

Gallery

A view of the Pentagon during its construction in July 1942. Raw, unfinished.
The Pentagon in 1988, with the Potomac River and Washington Monument in the background. A postcard view.
The aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Smoke, debris, the raw wound.
A September 11 anniversary illumination in 2007. Blue lights, a somber glow.
The Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. Each bench a silent testament.
An aerial close-up in May 2021. Still standing. Still here.

Notes

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society's designation is a matter of congressional record, signed into law by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958.