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Pentagon file photo [28653]

Pentagon

Type   17 Military Headquarters
Historical Name of Location   Arlington, Virginia, United States
Coordinates   38.870989000, -77.055961000

Contributor:

ww2dbaseThe Pentagon, the world's largest office building is located on the Virginia side of the Potomac River near Washington DC, United States. It was designed by American architect George Bergstrom (later replaced by David Witmer) and constructed by contractor John McShain. Built between 1941 and 1943 at a cost of US$83,000,000 to accommodate the increase in the personnel of the American defence staff. Prior to the completion of this building, defence personnel were located in several buildings in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia, with key staff located at the Munitions Building in Washington DC; some of these buildings were temporary structures erected to meet the demands of the war. The new building would bring the staff of all three military services together under the same roof. Approximately 32,000 workers would be employed there.

ww2dbaseIt is a five-sided building, five-storeys high, simple in style and built round a two-hectare court. The perimeter of the building is nearly one kilometre in length. There are 28.2 kilometers (17.5 miles) of corridors and contains some 340,000 square meters (3,700,000 square feet) of offices. It also possesses the largest private branch telephone exchange in the world. Currently it is equipped with a large library, a shopping centre, heliport, etc.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Update: May 2019



Pentagon Interactive Map

Photographs

Northwest side of the Pentagon building while under construction, Arlington, Virginia, United States, 1 Jul 1942General view of the speakers platform of the Pentagon building during the Christmas exercise, Arlington, Virginia, United States, 24 Dec 1942
See all 16 photographs of Pentagon

Pentagon Timeline

17 Jul 1941 The US Congress held a hearing on the construction of a new building for the US War Department.
28 Jul 1941 The US Congress authorized funding for the construction of the future Pentagon building.
2 Sep 1941 Franklin Roosevelt officially approved the site for the construction of the future Pentagon building.
11 Sep 1941 The construction of the Pentagon began in Arlington, Virginia, United States.
1 Jun 1942 The design work for the Pentagon building was completed; meanwhile, construction had already been underway since 11 Sep 1941.
15 Jan 1943 The Pentagon, the new building in Virginia, United States and the future home of the US Department of War, was dedicated.




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Modern Day Location
WW2-Era Place Name Arlington, Virginia, United States
Lat/Long 38.8710, -77.0560


Famous WW2 Quote
"Goddam it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!"

Captain Henry P. Jim Crowe, Guadalcanal, 13 Jan 1943


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