Concrete, comprised, in part, of , tons of sand and gravel from the Potomac. Also absent, until recently—elevators, because you need steel to make them. Now, thanks to a massive renovation project , there are 70 of them. The first site chosen for the building was Arlington Farms , which was pentagon-shaped. But planners figured out that the building would block the view of Washington from nearby Arlington National Cemetery.
So another site was chosen where Hoover Field used to be. Also, President Roosevelt liked the design—an important factor in keeping the original layout. In theory, at least, it takes no longer than six minutes to walk between any two spots in the building. According to Vogel, the shape also proved conducive to optimal use of space and utilities, such as electricity and plumbing. As specified by Virginia state law regarding segregation in public buildings at the time it was built, the Pentagon almost had segregated bathrooms and eating areas.
But President Franklin D. Roosevelt had, in June , outlawed discrimination in the defense industry with Executive Order Exactly 60 years to the day after the ground-breaking ceremony, the September 11, attacks occurred. American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the west side of the Pentagon after being hijacked, killing all aboard as well as over a hundred people within the Pentagon. The flight penetrated three of the five rings of the Pentagon. Because the affected area was under renovation at the time, several offices were unoccupied, sparing many lives.
The aircraft struck on the edge between two sections, one of which had just finished being upgraded. With approximately four million square feet of space, the design-build renovation of Wedges 2—5 included the removal of all hazardous materials, replacement of all building systems, addition of new elevators and escalators to improve vertical circulation, and installation of new security and telecommunications systems. Additionally, sustainable design measures and force protection initiatives prompted by the September 11, terrorist attack were successfully integrated into the design.
About the Pentagon The Pentagon Tours program, under the purview of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, hosts more than , visitors annually. Read More Tour Guidelines To take a guided tour of the Pentagon, you must make a reservation at least 14 days in advance through our website. Please review our Tour Guidelines Read More Pentagon Facts Headquarters of the Department of Defense, the Pentagon is one of the world's largest office buildings.
History of the Pentagon. The Metrorail station at the Pentagon opened in , and the bus station was then co-located with it. In , the roads through the building still used by taxis were closed to increase security. The Government ended up acquiring acres in more than separate parcels. Brick factories, mess halls, and barracks for soldiers at Fort Myer were removed, as well as civilian-owned houses.
The Eastern Airlines hangar at the airport was converted into offices for the planning and design staff during the construction phase. The Pentagon building itself covers It was constructed on properties acquired from three sources: The land assembled for the Pentagon-to-be came from several different holdings of which the largest were the southern end of Arlington Farms 57 acres , the Quartermaster depot site 80 acres , and the Washington-Hoover Airport The Northern side of the Pentagon rests on Arlington Farms land; the southern and western sides are on Quartermaster land, and the eastern side is on land from the airport.
More than the Washington-Hoover Airport was displaced. The largest number of residents forced to move lived in Queen City. Many were descendants of former slaves who had lived on the grounds of the Lee plantation. That land was seized by the US government and converted into Arlington Cemetery for the war dead, and into Freedman's Village for "contrabands" who fled to Washington, DC.
When efforts to close Freedman's Village finally succeeded in the 's, Queen City evolved as a replacement. The Queen City community lacked running water and indoor plumbing, but many residents owned their own homes. Planners of the Pentagon designed a road network for workers to access the building, and those roads ran through Queen City. Property of about people was acquired by condemnation and used for the Columbia Pike interchange in particular.
Some people moved to Halls Hill, one of the segregated neighborhoods in Alexandria County now Arlington County where blacks could live. The Federal government provided temporary housing in trailers located in Nauck and near the black elementary school on Johnson's Hill, Hoffman-Boston Elementary. Today's Mount Olive Baptist Church in Arlington incorporated into its foundation bricks moved from the church's original site in Queen City.
During construction, construction companies complied with Virginia's segregation laws and provided "white" and "colored" cafeterias for the construction workers.
In anticipation that racial separation would be required after construction, the number of bathrooms was doubled so there could be segregated "white" and "colored" toilets and sinks. President Roosevelt discovered the excess restrooms during an inspection tour, and the doors were never painted to designate bathrooms by race. However, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order in , banning discrimination by race for defense or government jobs.
In response to that Executive Order , A. The Pentagon, the first major Federal headquarters located in Virginia, was desegregated from the beginning. Before initial funding was approved in , some members of Congress suggested the structure would end up as a "white elephant. During the War, the Pentagon served as the headquarters for the US Army and its emerging air force unit. Employment during World War II peaked above 30, workers.
After victory in World War II, demobilization did not reduce the need for a large headquarters building. Other War Department offices in rented space were closed and personnel transferred to the Pentagon. In , the separate military services were consolidated into a unified Department of Defense. That Navy Annex building was another "temporary" building with a long lifespan.
It was built in , and finally razed in There were still 25, workers commuting to the Pentagon in , and about that number of people work in the building today. The Pentagon was never at risk of being converted into a records storage building. In , a fire in a Air Force computer room burned for five hours and caused one death from smoke inhalation. Magnetic tape, used in the data storage technology of that time, fueled the fire.
Firefighters reported the scene was so hot that: Water on the floor was so hot you could feel it through your boots. The modern Pentagon has 26, offices. Within its 6. It is the largest low-rise office building in the world. In Virginia, the next-largest industrial building is an Amazon robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk, constructed in The Egyptian Ministry of Defense has built a complex of office buildings 20 miles east of Cairo for its new headquarters, called the Octagon because of the shape of the individual buildings.
The General Services Administration was responsible for maintenance of the Pentagon until The program ended up renovating each wedge individually, until completion in The renovation improved the reliability of electrical service, installed modern telecommunications capacity, removed asbestos, replaced sewers, added sprinklers for fire protection, and installed blast-resistant windows.
Until the Pentagon Renovation Program, elevators carried just freight - except for one elevators dedicated for use by the Secretary of Defense. Elevators for people were added in the renovation to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. During the renovation, terrorists hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 and flew it into the building on September 11, It penetrated from the E-Ring to the C-Ring.
The plane happened to hit a wedge that had been upgraded in the Pentagon Renovation Program, but people inside the building were killed in the initial collision and subsequent fire. A portion of the roof collapsed, and an foot gash was created in the foot long wall. The damaged area was rebuilt within one year. Is the Pentagon in Virginia? Boteler, c. References 1. DC-7, , pp.
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