The Past is Prologue: An Historical Column

The Pentagon

Words by Captain Paul Creighton

            The Pentagon, the headquarters for the United States Department of War, was dedicated on January 15, 1943.  Prior to that time, the War Department was headquartered in a series of buildings, each one meant as a temporary solution to the department's need for office space.  The site was selected across the Potomac River and plans began to be drawn.  To save much needed steel for the war effort, the design was limited to four stories, creating a massive building which sprawled over close to 29 acres, in addition to the 5 acre courtyard at the center.

            Noted architects, George Bergstrom and David J. Witmer were the chief architects for the Pentagon.  The basic design work was completed in the astonishingly short time, July 17-22, 1941.  So that on September 11, 1941, the contracts for construction were signed which allowed the actual construction to began on the Pentagon on that very same day.  John McShain was the general contractor for the construction of the Pentagon.  Known as “The Man who Built Washington,” this Philadelphian headed the company associated with the Jefferson Memorial, the Library of Congress annex, the 1950-51 reconstruction of the White House, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

            In order to speed construction, the finalized plans were not available when construction began, and on a number of occasions the construction actually got ahead of the design.  Instead of using steel, cast concrete was utilized.  The Potomac was dredged for 680,000 tons of sand to make the concrete.  Each of the five sides is 77 feet tall and 921 feet long with a facade of Indiana limestone.  Another steel-saving measure was the decision to fore go elevators in favor of concrete ramps.  Noted for efficiency of design, a person walking at normal walking speed is able to walk between any two points in the Pentagon in seven minutes or less.

            Built during the time when racial segregation was still in effect, the building included separate dining facilities and restrooms.  However, since the President Roosevelt had put anti-discrimination measures into effect in the military, the removal of the «Whites Only» signs was ordered by the President, creating one of the few places in Virginia where segregation was not permitted.

            Amazingly, such an enduring structure was designed and built in such a short period of time.  Undoubtedly, America's involvement in World War II created a sense of urgency and much of the political wrangling that would go on in peacetime on a project of this size was simply forgotten for the expediency of the war effort.  Even amid this desire to streamline the design, the process, and the construction, racial segregation was still high enough on the list that it made it into the final designs and construction.  Still, the building was well suited for the task of being the headquarters of the War Department and the building with one too many sides and twice as many bathrooms as needed served the United States well through the remainder of the war and beyond.