The Pentagon

Headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, is one of the world's largest office buildings. It has three times the floor space of the Empire State Building in New York.

The Pentagon is virtually a city in itself. Approximately 23,000 employees, both military and civilian, 200 acres of lawn, parking for approximately 8,770 cars in 16 parking lots; 131 stairways, 19 escalators. Offices that occupy 3,705,793 square feet, 4,200 clocks, 691 water fountains, 284 rest rooms, a restaurant staff of 230 persons with 1 dining room, 2 cafeterias, 6 snack bars, and an outdoor snack bar.

Built during the early years of World War II, it is still thought of by the occupants as one of the most efficient office buildings in the world. With 17.5 miles of corridors it takes seven minutes to walk between any two points in the building.

The original site was 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 16 months and completed on January 15, 1943 at an approximate cost of $83 million. It consolidated 17 buildings of the War Department.