The construction of the Pentagon was completed in only 16 months. During the peak of construction 15,000 men worked in three, 5,000-man shifts around the clock. The building has never undergone a major renovation and today, after 60 years, all of its building systems need complete replacement.

The Pentagon is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. It has been inseparably linked with the United States Military since its construction during World War II.

During the first half of 1941 the War Department found it increasingly difficult to provide space for the headquarters staff of an expanding army. In May, the Public Buildings Administration proposed erecting temporary structures for various agencies on the outskirts of the city. In July 1941, 24,000 personnel were scattered among 17 buildings in Washington, D.C., with others in Fort Myer and Alexandria, Virginia. By the beginning of 1942, the number of personnel was expected to reach 30,000. The President, therefore, asked Congress for authority to construct additional buildings within or near the District of Columbia. The War Department=s Chief of Construction, Brigadier General Brehon B. Somervell, had a better idea, a scheme to house the entire War Department under one roof. He talked to General Moore, Deputy Chief of Staff, and to U.S. Representative Woodrum (D-Virginia) about his idea.

At a Thursday, July 17, 1941, hearing on construction projects before the House Subcommittee on Appropriations, the Chairman, Mr. Woodrum of Virginia, suggested to Brigadier General Eugene Reybold and Brigadier General Somervell that the War Department find an overall solution to its space problem rather than the partial solution proposed by the Public Buildings Administration. Somervell directed Architect G. Edwin Bergstrom to place on his desk, by 9 o=clock Monday morning, basic plans and architectural perspectives for an office building to house 40,000 people. Five days later, on Tuesday, July 22, 1941, Reybold and Somervell presented the plan to the Subcommittee. The plan was approved by the House on July 28, 1941, and by the Senate on August 14, 1941.

On August 25, 1941, President Roosevelt signed the bill appropriating funds for construction. However, because of considerable controversy over the proposed location at the foot of Arlington National Cemetery, he reserved the right to pick the site. The following day, the President directed that the construction site be moved south to the Pentagon=s present location.

The Pentagons unusual five-sided configuration was dictated by the site originally proposed (adjacent to Memorial Drive, about three-fourths of a mile north of where the building was actually constructed). An early plan called for a square structure with one corner cut off to accommodate an existing road. This resulted in a skewed Pentagon shape. Serious objections were raised to locating the building on open land directly between Arlington Cemetery and Washington=s Monumental Core, and discussions ensued regarding selection of a building site resulting in less visual and physical impact from the project. During the debate on the site, the project=s chief architects, George Edwin Bergstrom and David J. Witmer, continued to refine the design. The final design retained the five sides, in the form of a true pentagon, which gave rise to the building=s name. That shape resulted in the most efficient use of available space. The concept of using several concentric rings to contain the space evolved during further refinement of design. Preliminary design and drafting took just 34 days. A project of this magnitude and urgency demanded the rapid assembly of an unprecedented design and production effort.

The office of the chief architect rapidly grew to 327 architects and engineers who were supported by 117 field inspectors. The weekly output of prints ranged from 12,000 to 30,000 with reproduction machines running on a 24-hour basis. For periods of time, new drawings were issued nightly. The reproduction effort consumed 15,000 yards of print paper per week.
Construction began on September 11, 1941, and was completed on January 15, 1943. At one stage of construction, 15,000 people were employed on the job working three shifts, 24 hours a day. At night, they worked under floodlights. Construction took just 16 months, a remarkable feat of engineering and management.

Headquarters of the Department of Defense, the Pentagon is one of the world's largest office buildings. It is twice the size of the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and has three times the floor space of the Empire State Building in New York. The National Capitol could fit into any one of the five wedge-shaped sections. There are very few people throughout the United States who do not have some knowledge of the Pentagon. Many have followed news stories emanating from the defense establishment housed in this building. However, relatively few people have had the opportunity to visit with us.

The Pentagon is virtually a city in itself. Approximately 23,000 employees, both military and civilian, contribute to the planning and execution of the defense of our country. These people arrive daily from Washington, D.C. and its suburbs over approximately 30 miles of access highways, including express bus lanes and one of the newest subway systems in our country. They ride past 200 acres of lawn to park approximately 8,770 cars in 16 parking lots; climb 131 stairways or ride 19 escalators to reach offices that occupy 3,705,793 square feet. While in the building, they tell time by 4,200 clocks, drink from 691 water fountains, utilize 284 rest rooms, consume 4,500 cups of coffee, 1,700 pints of milk and 6,800 soft drinks prepared or served by a restaurant staff of 230 persons and dispensed in 1 dining room, 2 cafeterias, 6 snack bars, and an outdoor snack bar. The restaurant service is a privately run civilian operation under contract to the Pentagon.

Over 200,000 telephone calls are made daily through phones connected by 100,000 miles of telephone cable. The Defense Post Office handles about 1,200,000 pieces of mail monthly. Various libraries support our personnel in research and completion of their work. The Army Library alone provides 300,000 publications and 1,700 periodicals in various languages.

Stripped of its occupants, furniture and various decorations, the building alone is an extraordinary structure. Built during the early years of World War II, it is still thought of as one of the most efficient office buildings in the world. Despite 17.5 miles of corridors it takes only seven minutes to walk between any two points in the building.

The original site was nothing more than wasteland, swamps and dumps. 5.5 million cubic yards of earth, and 41,492 concrete piles contributed to the foundation of the building. Additionally, 680,000 tons of sand and gravel, dredged from the nearby Potomac River, were processed into 435,000 cubic yards of concrete and molded into the Pentagon form. The building was constructed in the remarkably short time of 16 months and completed on January 15, 1943 at an approximate cost of $83 million. It consolidated 17 buildings of the War Department and returned its investment within seven years.

We hope this information will serve to eliminate some of the myths surrounding the Pentagon and give an appreciation of the size of the building.