World War II Database

Contributor: Alan Chanter

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.

Pentagon Interactive Map

Photographs

Pentagon Timeline