1. During the construction it was not intended that the building would be used as the headquarters of the US Department of Defense
US President Franklin Roosevelt never planned to use the Pentagon building as the headquarters of the Department of Defense. In the 1930s, he ordered the construction of another building for the military and naval departments, but it quickly became too small for this scale. It was then that the president ordered the construction of a new building to house 40,000 employees and 10,000 vehicles. Now the building of the old military department houses the state department.
2. The Pentagon building is larger than the Empire State Building
The total office area of the Pentagon is 473,805 square meters, which is almost twice the size of the Empire State Building in New York.
3. The Pentagon is built on Hell Day
The Pentagon was built on the site of a poor black quarter called Hell's Bottom. Former slaves settled here after the Civil War. The area was considered a kind of red-light district.
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4. During the Cold War, the Pentagon received the nickname "Epicenter"
Long before the September 11 terrorist attack, after which the Twin Towers began to be called the English word Ground Zero, the Pentagon was so called. It was assumed that if a nuclear war with the USSR did begin, the first missiles would strike the Pentagon.
5.17.5 miles
Walking around the Pentagon is a great way to lose a few pounds in itself. The Pentagon has a total of 17.5 miles (28 km) corridors. In general, this building is a real labyrinth. They say that General Eisenhower once got lost while trying to find his office.
6. Renovations
Since the Pentagon opened its doors in 1943, it has experienced only one renovation. It took 17 years to complete and ended in 2011. Fortunately, only $ 4.5 billion was spent on it. Not bad, huh?
7. The height is only five floors
The Pentagon has only 5 floors. This was conceived to save the steel for World War II, which was used to its full extent during the construction of the building. The designers also did not want to spoil the view of the Capitol across the Potomac River.
8. No elevators
There are no elevators at the Pentagon. Moving between floors is done using ladders. This was also done due to steel savings during WWII.
9. Completed in record time
The Pentagon is so large that it is hard to believe that its construction could be completed quickly. But it is so. General Leslie R. Groves oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and accomplished this task in just 2 years.
10. Lots of toilets
The Pentagon now has twice as many toilets as it needs. This is because it was built during the times of segregation, when separate latrines were needed for black and white employees.
Renata Shishkina