The Pentagon building has become a symbol of American military power

Photo: Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brittany A. Chase, 2021

Washington/Praha - The headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, completed on January 14, 1943, in the midst of World War II, is shaped like a pentagon, from which it derives its name - the Pentagon. This word is now also perceived as a designation for the entire defense establishment and a symbol of American military power. The cornerstone of the building was laid on September 11, 1941, exactly 60 years later it became one of the targets of the terrorist attack on the USA.

This allegedly largest administrative building in the world, located in Arlington, close to Washington, was designed by architect George Bergstrom. The Pentagon has seven floors (of which five are above ground) and consists of five concentric pentagons. One side of the largest of them measures over 200 meters. Each side of each pentagon is connected on every floor by three hallways, which together are nearly 30 kilometers long.

The building has over 116,000 square meters of space and accommodates approximately 26,000 employees. In the center, there is a square with an area of 20,000 square meters. The entire complex is surrounded by giant parking lots for around 9,000 cars. The Pentagon is connected to Washington by a network of highways, metro, and buses; it is practically unreachable by foot.

On that fateful September 11, 2001, the Pentagon became one of the targets of the terrorist attacks carried out by hijacked planes, during which the World Trade Center skyscrapers in New York were destroyed. At the Pentagon, 189 people perished - 64 on board the plane (including five hijackers) and 125 inside the building. The repair of the damaged building cost 740 million dollars, took nine months, and was completed in June 2002.