At the end of the 20th century (1943), the most important US building, the Pentagon, was built near Washington. The main base of the Ministry of Defense of the country is located within its walls. This building is the epitome of American strength and power. Translated from the Greek language "Pentagon" - "pentagon". This name is quite consistent with the shape of the building. A few years ago, the doors of this grandiose building were opened to everyone. After the tragic events of September 2001 (terrorist attack), tours of the Pentagon are limited.
The Pentagon is a huge office building, one of the largest in the world. The total area is about 600,000 square meters. m. The structure was built on the initiative of General Sommervell. The US military headquarters was supposed to be located within its walls. The building was designed by the famous American architect George Bergstrom. The result was an oblong, squat structure in the shape of a pentagon. Due to financial difficulties, the cheapest materials were used for construction - reinforced concrete and sand. The Pentagon was built in a short period of time, with several thousand workers working on it. The architects did their best, turning the building into a real labyrinth with dozens of long winding corridors and sectors. While the second part of the building was still being erected, the work of the Ministry of Defense of the country was already in full swing in the completed offices. Later, the Pentagon had water supply, sewerage, and even its own helipad. There is a bus stop nearby. A few years later, modern elevators were launched. On September 11, 2001, the country was subjected to a terrorist attack. Al-Qaeda militants hijacked a plane with passengers. The terrorists sent him straight to the Pentagon. Part of the building was destroyed, several dozen people died, including passengers. Today, this part of the building houses a museum of memory. There is a small chapel nearby. There is a memorial park around.
The Pentagon is an elongated five-story building. Inside there are about seven thousand windows, 130 stairs, 20 escalators and 15 elevators. About 30 thousand people work in the building. The layout was created in the form of concentric rings, from which direct rays extend in all directions. It facilitates movement, getting to the desired office or sector is not difficult, it is enough to overcome several winding corridors. There are countless toilets within the walls of the building. Previously, they were built with special priority - there were separate booths for blacks. The Hall of Heroes has opened at the Pentagon. Every year, in a solemn atmosphere, medals and awards are presented here to the best US servicemen. The walls of the hall are covered with the names of the heroes. There is a small grocery store in the courtyard of the building. It was opened specifically for employees of the department. There is a theory that during the Cold War there was a secret bunker under the store. Allegedly, Russian satellites detected the movement of a huge number of people in this area. Around the courtyard there is a wonderful park of oaks and maples. Among them - green lawns, well-kept lawn, flower beds. Upon entering the building, visitors find themselves in a spacious, bright lobby. Countless shops, banks, offices, restaurants, cafes and other service companies are concentrated here. You can look into a flower shop, a candy store or a jewelry store. The walls of the lobby are covered with photographs of the American military. Tours are conducted by young cadets dressed in full dress uniforms. The final destination of the excursion is the memorial park and the chapel built on the site of the destroyed building. In the middle of the park there is a large death slab made of black marble. The names of all those who died in this terrible tragedy are engraved on it.
In the city of Arlington, in the state of Virginia, one of the most grandiose architectural creations, the Pentagon, is located. To get to it, you can use the Pentagon metro station. You can take buses under the numbers - 7A, 9A, 22A, 7B, 18H, 10E, etc. Interesting excursions are held within the walls of the building, from which you can learn a lot about the history of the creation of this building, about the years of the Cold War, the events of World War II and much more. Many come here to pay tribute to the memory of all those who died in the tragedy of 2001.
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The article tells about what the Pentagon is, when this building was created, what roles it performs and who is its head.
With the development of human society, the need for various kinds of public services and organizations gradually arose. And probably, the greatest attention has always been paid to those services that are engaged in ensuring the security of the country and its citizens, for example, the army, law enforcement agencies, etc. And the Ministry of Defense usually deals with the organization of their work, control and everything else. In the US, this is the Pentagon.
This building of a peculiar form became very recognizable over time, and its name became firmly established in the everyday speech of military personnel as the designation of the Ministry of Defense. But what is the Pentagon, when was it built? We will talk about this.
As already mentioned, the Pentagon is the headquarters. The name comes from a peculiar form. And metonymically, it has long been used to designate the Department of Defense both among the US military and among foreign journalists, observers, military specialists and others. So now we know what the Pentagon is.
This building is also the largest office in the world and was completed in 1943. If we talk about dimensions, then the length of each side is 281 meters, the total perimeter is 1405 meters, and the total length of the corridors is 28 kilometers.
It was designed by the architect Bergstrom, and the plan for the new, very spacious and carefully thought-out building was commissioned directly by the US Department of Defense. So we sorted out the question, what is the Pentagon.
Despite the general conviction, the pentagonal shape of the building does not have any sacred meaning, it’s just that in the place where it was originally going to be erected, there were specific features of the terrain, topography, road layout and everything else, which led the architects to create a building of this shape. However, before the actual start of construction, it was decided to change the location of the future building of the Ministry of Defense. And although there were no restrictions in the form of third-party objects in the new place, they still decided to leave the pentagonal shape the same, and this is how the modern Pentagon turned out. This building is recognizable, probably, all over the world.
The central lawn of the courtyard is unofficially called "Ground Zero". This name was given to him by employees of the Ministry during the Cold War, and it is somewhat ironic, denoting a target for nuclear missiles of the Soviet Union.
It is also often possible to meet the question of where the Pentagon is located. And it is located in the USA, next to Washington.
And by the way, the layout of the building was created during the time of racial segregation, and the final stages of construction - after the abolition of this law. And because the number of toilet rooms in the end turned out to be doubled, since some of them were intended exclusively for the use of blacks. And this fact is probably the most frequent, which is mentioned in the stories about the Pentagon. This building is also famous for its history.
Almost everyone knows about the tragic events of this date. However, in the first place, it is associated precisely with the way the planes crashed into skyscraper buildings. But few people remember that another of the planes hijacked by terrorists rammed the Pentagon.
On September 11, the plane crashed into the left outer wing of the building, where at that time the headquarters of the Navy command was located. Part of the wall collapsed, and severe damage was also caused by fire. As a result of all this, the number of victims was 125 people, 64 of them were passengers of the hijacked aircraft.
Approximately 20 minutes after the direct collision, another part of the wall collapsed, which greatly slowed down fire and rescue efforts. But still, with all the tragedy of the victims, there could have been much more. The thing is that shortly before the attack, repairs were barely completed in that section of the building, and there were few workers there.
Later, after all the restoration work, a memorial was erected in the newly rebuilt wing in memory of those who died on that fateful day.
Ashton Baldwin Carter is the head of the Pentagon. He took up this post on February 17, 2015. Carter is the 25th Secretary of Defense of the United States, having been nominated for this position by Barack Obama himself.
Carter has a bachelor's degree in theoretical physics, and many of his rivals said he would make a better scientist than a politician.
After the outbreak of the military conflict in eastern Ukraine, Carter repeatedly stated that various kinds of pressure should be exerted on Russia, since, in his opinion, it is she who is the cause of the war and the unstable situation in Kyiv.
The headquarters of the US Department of Defense, known as the Pentagon, was built in less than a year and a half. For American society, this complex is one of the symbols of the country's military might. Construction of a reinforced concrete building with an area of 600 thousand square meters. m began on September 11, 1941 and was completed on January 15, 1943. The Pentagon is located in a wasteland in the suburbs of Washington (Arlington) on the Potomac River.
Until 1941, the United States Department of Defense did not exist as a single agency. The idea to place separate headquarters of each type of troops and the bureaucracy in one building belonged to the 32nd US President Franklin Roosevelt.
The Pentagon was conceived as a grandiose complex capable of accommodating 26,000 employees with the prospect of expanding to 40,000. Department of Defense land was allocated for construction, once owned by the commander of the Confederate army, Robert E. Lee, one of the central historical figures of the Civil War (1861-1865) .
The road junction in the selected section formed several faces of a regular pentagon - a pentagon. Architect George Bergstrom came up with the idea to fit the building into the landscape.
Later, it was decided to deploy the construction elsewhere. At the same time, the shape and size of the building did not change.
The work was carried out around the clock and lasted 491 days. An astronomical amount for the 1940s was spent on the Pentagon project - $ 83 million. Inexpensive reinforced concrete was chosen as the main material for construction.
The Pentagon building turned out to be relatively low (five floors, 23 m high), but extremely wide. The length of each side (face) is 281 m, and the perimeter of the building is over 1.4 km.
The US Department of Defense building consists of five concentric rings divided into sections (the underground tier has seven rings). Between themselves, the rings are radially connected by ten corridors. The total length of the corridors is about 28 km. Inside the building there are 13 elevators, 19 escalators and 131 stairs, two-wheeled electric scooters are provided for ease of movement.
Despite its grandiose size, the Pentagon is considered one of the most ergonomic office buildings in the world - within seven minutes you can walk to any end of the complex (if you go straight through the courtyard). However, sometimes the corridors of the ministry look like a real labyrinth.
There is a known case when the 34th American President Dwight Eisenhower got lost in the Pentagon: returning from a meeting in one of the buildings, the head of the White House could not find his way to his office.
At the time of the construction of the Pentagon, laws related to racial segregation were still in force in the United States. In this regard, the building of the Ministry of Defense was designed taking into account the zoning of the interior into sectors for "white" and "colored" (it was about cafeterias, latrines, conference rooms). Therefore, now there are twice as many toilets in the Pentagon than it should be according to sanitary standards.
“For some time, the building of the Ministry of Defense was considered the world's largest office center. Sometimes there is talk about the need to increase the area of the Pentagon, because today far from all the personnel of the Ministry of Defense work there, ”said Valery Garbuzov, director of the Institute for the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with RT.
According to the expert, the Pentagon no longer impresses with its architectural grandeur. However, he retains the role of one of the symbols of American military power.
“This is partly the merit of Hollywood, which represents the Pentagon not just as the headquarters of the American armed forces, but as a kind of place where key decisions about the fate of the world are allegedly made,” Garbuzov said.
The US Department of Defense building is open to tour groups. There are many interesting exhibits in the Pentagon premises (there is even an Oscar from the National Film Academy for the documentary series Why We Fight).
In the center of the courtyard is the Ground Zero cafeteria. According to the legend of the Cold War, in the event of a nuclear strike on the Pentagon from the USSR, the epicenter of the explosion would have fallen directly on this diner, since Soviet intelligence allegedly mistook Ground Zero for a bunker for secret documents - satellite images at certain hours were recorded at the building of a crowd of people. Therefore, lunch at Ground Zero was called the most dangerous in the world.
In addition to Ground Zero, there are many other cafes, canteens and buffets inside the Pentagon, including well-known brands such as Subway and McDonald's.
As Garbuzov noted, the Pentagon struck the imagination of contemporaries and inspired cinematographers to create all sorts of legends that were partially intertwined with reality.
One of the most common myths is the existence of a developed system of "catacombs" in the Pentagon. In reality, the US Department of Defense building has only two underground tiers.
In Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove, or How I Stopped Being Afraid and Loved the Bomb (1964), American politicians, scientists, and a Soviet diplomat, gathered in a Pentagon conference room, tried to prevent a nuclear war between the two superpowers. And when it became clear that the end of the world could not be avoided, the characters of the film decided to take refuge in special underground bunkers.
The US Department of Defense infrastructure does include shelters, but they are all located far from the Pentagon.
The only documented attack on the Pentagon was the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Then a Boeing 757-200 hijacked by terrorists (American Airlines Flight 77) with 58 passengers (including five terrorists) and six crew members on board crashed into the left outer wing of the building occupied by the US Navy.
The victims of the attack were 184 people, including 125 who were at that moment in the building of the Ministry of Defense. It is noteworthy that on this tragic day 60 years have passed since the start of construction of the Pentagon.
In 2001, the Pentagon was in the process of reconstruction, which started back in 1998. And on September 11, the plane crashed into just that part of the building where construction work was underway.
After the plane crashed into the Pentagon, its body was completely destroyed by fire, only the steering wheel and flight recorder survived. In footage released by the FBI a few years after the attack, you can see only a few small fragments of the liner.
In an interview with RT, military expert Yuri Knutov noted that the ramming of the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 was a complete surprise for the American military. The terrorists used a new method of mass murder, which was impossible to prevent by means of air defense.
On September 11, 2002, the left wing of the Pentagon was restored. In 2008, a memorial was erected in front of the building in memory of the victims of the attack.
In general, I still remember the vocabulary of my parents from Soviet times, where any large, awkward building was called the Pentagon. As a child, I didn’t even know the real meaning of this name, but the word was already in use.
But in fact, this is the largest office building in the world, the building impresses not only with its size, but also with its shape. Today it is the symbol of the US Armed Forces, and the word Pentagon itself is often used as a synonym for the US Department of Defense.
Let's find out some interesting facts about this building ...
1. Initially, the building was not built for the Ministry of Defense, but by the time the work was completed, the military department had outgrown those offices where it was located and needed a new building.
Somewhere in 1940, the American administration had a crazy idea - to place the entire US Department of Defense in one building. And this is no less than 26,000 employees scattered in 17 separate buildings in the District of Columbia. Moreover, according to the terms of reference, 40 thousand people should have comfortably accommodated in the future citadel at the same time! In Europe, the Second World War was gaining momentum, to which the Americans could join at any moment, but here is such an idea! It somehow turns out illogical - all the key military commanders are under one roof. Even the top managers of Coca-Cola, who know the recipe for soda, do not fly in the same plane.
Nevertheless, the architects immediately after the president's go-ahead began to look for a territory for the construction of the citadel. In Arlington, a suburb of Washington, they chose a place that had once been expropriated. Feng Shui masters would certainly envy them. Most captivating was that the piece of land was delineated by five roads, some of which intersected at 108-degree angles. To most, of course, this could not say much, but architects are strong in geometry, and they knew very well that lines converge at such a degree in an equilateral pentagon, which the ancient Greeks called the "pentagon".
For us, it will remain a mystery what came first - the place that the searchlights discovered, or the project for which the territory was specially selected. I must say that the place was decently swampy, and very close to it was the famous Arlington Cemetery, where American soldiers were buried - not the best place for construction. The feng shui masters would hardly have approved, but the US president probably knew more than the Chinese geomancers - the land for construction was agreed upon. The only thing Roosevelt ordered - at the request of his wife - was to move a little, half a mile, the future building so that it would not block the view from Arlington Cemetery to Washington.
2. The area of the Pentagon is 474,300 square meters, which is twice the size of the Empire State Building.
3. The Pentagon was built on the site of a black slum called "Lower Hell."
4. During the Cold War, the Pentagon was called “Point Zero”, because if a war broke out with the USSR, the first blow would be directed there.
5. The length of the corridors of the Pentagon is 28 km, and they are an intricate labyrinth.
Although, on the other hand, it is argued that the Pentagon is still the most optimal in ergonomics. The building is crossed by ten corridors in the center, which connect five pentagons coming from the center. So, an employee of the American military department can get to any point of the building along the perimeter, spending no more than seven minutes on it.
Natural ergonomics is associated with the properties of the geometric figure itself. So, the diagonals of the pentagon form a pentagram, and the points of intersection of the diagonals in a regular pentagon are always the points of the "golden section". At the same time, they form another pentagon, which, when drawing diagonals, will certainly form another one. And so on ad infinitum. Thus, the pentagon, as it were, consists of an infinite number of pentagons, which are formed by the intersection points of the diagonals. This endless repetition of the same geometric figure creates a sense of rhythm and harmony, which is unconsciously fixed by our mind.
However, probably not only ergonomic advantages prompted the US military to opt for a regular pentagon figure. The symbolism itself played a big role. Let's go back to Plato. The famous philosopher called the dodecahedron the most perfect geometric body - a dodecahedron made up of twelve pentagons. Plato claimed that it was him that "God used to plan the universe as a model." In 2003, while analyzing data from NASA's WMAP spacecraft, it was hypothesized that the universe is a dodecahedral Poincaré space. According to simulation data, the results of observations indicated that the Universe is a set of infinitely repeating dodecahedrons - regular polyhedra, the surface of which is formed by 12 pentagons. It is curious that among conspiracy theorists a hypothesis has arisen that the Pentagon building is only a visible part of the structure. They say that the structure is completely in shape exactly a dodecahedron, however, the rest of the geometric body is hidden from view underground. Of course, this cannot be verified. Any uncertainty excites fantasies.
6. The building has been operating since 1943, and during this time there was only one repair, which lasted 17 years - from 1994 to 2011.
7. The building has only five floors, since the period of its construction fell on the time of the Second World War and the steel was saved for the needs of the army. For the same reason - saving steel - there are no elevators in the building. P.S. But this fact has not been confirmed, although everyone writes about it. Look at the photo here: A man presses a button in an elevator reserved for the highest-ranking Pentagon officers and guests. The Pentagon has 13 elevators, 19 escalators, 131 stairwells. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images
8. It took 17 years to repair the building, but its construction was completed in record time - in just two years.
9. The number of latrines in the building exceeds all conceivable limits. There are actually twice as many of them as needed for such an area. This is because during its construction it was required to have separate toilets for white and black workers.
10. Many experts in the field of astrology argued that the construction of the Pentagon was not without the advice of astrologers. The construction was planned to begin on September 11, 1941 and finish on January 15, 1943. It is curious that the deadlines were met by the builders, as they say, second to second, which in itself is an exceptional case - especially for wartime. Astrologers noticed a certain "star" pattern in the dates of the start and end of construction. Their attention was drawn to the "planet of war" - Mars. Construction began when this celestial body was in its sign - Aries, and ended when Mars was in its exaltation (maximum strength) - Scorpio. It is curious that after the commissioning of the Pentagon, the American army conducted only successful military operations in World War II.
11. This date mysteriously accompanies the Pentagon. On this day in 1941, the construction of the building began, in 2001 the Pentagon was attacked by a Boeing, and on September 11, 2002, the entire territory of the Pentagon was put back into operation. One of the main improvements was the complete renovation of the windows of the building, replacing them with armored ones. The outer walls of the building were reinforced and made blast resistant. The elevators leading to the metro station were closed and general security measures were significantly increased. Conspiracy theorists are trying to look for patterns in this coincidence, but so far no one has been able to open the mystery of the September 11 factor. It is curious that some hotheads, fascinated by the mysteries of the Pentagon, predict that two more September 11ths should happen in the "biography" of the object - in order to symbolically complete the regular pentagon.
12 But the main mystery, at least in the public domain, is the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. According to official data, on this day, at 9:37:46, the left wing of the US military building was rammed by a Boeing 757-200. This wing houses the command of the naval forces. Part of the building collapsed and was seriously damaged. Curiously, at the time of the strike, it was this wing of the Pentagon that was undergoing redevelopment, and most of the employees from it were transferred to other offices. Almost immediately after the attack, dozens of comments appeared claiming that no plane had crashed into the Pentagon. According to the doubters, the damage to the building is minimal after being attacked by a 100-ton aircraft moving at a speed of at least 300 km per hour. “On the site in front of the wall, not only is there no debris, but there are no traces of burning on the grass from the huge volume of blazing fuel from the (presumably) destroyed aircraft tanks,” the experts write. In addition, after any plane crash, even the most terrible, there are always recognizable remains of parts of the fuselage.
In the case of the Pentagon, according to official information, all the remains of the Boeing were melted down in a fire. Miraculously, only the black box survived, the records of which proved that the plane had been hijacked by terrorists. Some analysts put forward a version that the nature of the destruction of the Pentagon is more consistent with an attack by a Tomahawk cruise missile without a warhead that does not have a warhead (explosives) - ramming an aircraft with almost full tanks, they say, should have almost completely destroyed the Pentagon. However, employees of the department do not comment on the opinions of amateurs. What can people, even experts in explosives, know about the supernatural properties of the geometric figure of an equilateral pentagon? "Let no geometer enter!" And then, how can these doubters explain, where did the passengers of the plane, which allegedly did not crash, go?
13. While the Pentagon is boiling in a closed space of an infinite number of internal pentagons, pentagrams, “flavored” with golden sections, people outside are trying in vain to unravel their riddles. Sometimes those who are dissatisfied with the official information of the US military department have to be content with cunning numerological calculations that give entertaining results. So, the Pentagon was built in 491 days. If, according to the Pythagorean method, we add these numbers (4 + 9 + 1), then we get - 5 (the number of sides of the pentagon). If we go further, according to the same Pythagorean method, and decide to multiply the numbers (4X9X1), then we get - 36. If we do not calm down on this number, we calculate the sum of all integers from 1 to 36, then we get - 666. Conspiracy theorists claim that it was for the sake of this number that the builders worked day and night, so as not to overwhelm the deadlines. But you can agree on anything that way. By the way, the pentagon with the pentagram enclosed in it was a symbol of the famous Pythagorean mystical union founded by the ancient Greek thinker. So, the Pythagoreans believed that their emblem not only symbolizes the harmony of the universe, but is also capable of exerting a harmonious effect on the surrounding space. The boundaries of influence, of course, depend on the size of the regular pentagon. So, the perimeter of the Arlington geometric figure is about 1405 meters - this is enough today to influence the whole world.
Well, some more interesting information about the construction of this building and more about the above facts. At the outbreak of World War II, the US War Department, with its 26,000 personnel, was located in 17 separate buildings on the territory of Washington, DC. As soon as it became clear that the US would also be involved in this global conflict, not only a huge increase in the number of warheads and equipment, but also manpower was urgently required. The buildings of the War Ministry were overcrowded, there was a catastrophic lack of space. US Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson considered this situation unacceptable, so in May 1941 he turned to US President Franklin Roosevelt with a request to allocate additional territories for his Office. During congressional debate, it was decided that the new War Department building would be located in Arlington, Virginia (i.e., across the Potomac River from DC), because Washington simply did not have enough space for such a building. It was also noted that the future building should be wide, but not high (no more than 4 floors in height), and in war conditions - also with minimal use of steel structures. The new Military Department was supposed to accommodate about 40 thousand people, and the parking lot - about 10 thousand cars! Construction of the new US War Department building, 1941 (Department of Defense was not used until 1947.) Thomas D. McAvoy—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images
$ 35 million from the federal budget was allocated for the implementation of such a project. Contractors were also identified during the discussions, including John McShain Inc., Wise Contracting Company Inc., and Doyle and Russell. The design of the project was entrusted to the American architect George Bergstrom, and John McShane became the project manager, thanks to whom the Washington National Airport (now named after Ronald Reagan) in Arlington and the Jefferson Memorial in Washington were already rebuilt.
The site chosen for construction, known as Arlington Farms, was located near Arlington National Cemetery, on the site of the former Hoover Airport, next to the Arlington Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River. This was a heavily swampy area, which required additional funds for its improvement: 680 thousand tons of sand and 5 million cubic meters of land were additionally brought to the territory. However, the proposed territory was also not enough. About 150 plants and factories were demolished to make way for the future home of the country's military department. Part of the cleared area (1.1 km 2) was given over to the construction of the Pentagon, while the other 1.2 km 2 was transferred to the Arlington National Cemetery. The resulting territory, bordered by roads, was very similar to a geometric figure - the pentagon. The designers of the project decided to make the most of the territory provided to them, so the building itself will correspond to this form. Actually, this is how it got its official name - the Pentagon. 2. Architects and planners work on a plan to build the Pentagon in a building partially completed in 1942 by Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. First published outside of LIFE. 3. The Master Plan provides an overview of the Pentagon's road network. In a residential complex with about 23,000 workers and 16 parking lots for more than 8,000 vehicles, new roads were a necessary part of the construction to keep traffic moving.
As soon as the project received the approval of the president, on September 11, 1941, active round-the-clock construction began, especially accelerated after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Surprisingly, the largest building of the 20th century was erected in just 16 months and was ready by mid-January 1943. The monolithic building was erected in neoclassical style. Simplicity of construction in war conditions was of fundamental importance. The Pentagon was built from sand and reinforced concrete supported by 41,492 concrete piles. Indiana limestone was used as a cladding material. Marble was decided not to be used, since fascist Italy was its supplier, cooperation with which was excluded during the war.
Ultimately, the construction of the Pentagon cost American taxpayers more than $83 million. The perimeter of the building is 1405 m, the length of one side of the pentagon is 281 m. The total floor area is 604,000 m². The total area of the complex is about 2.5 million km2. There are 7754 windows in the walls of the Pentagon. Despite the impressive size of the building, it will take no more than 7 minutes to get from one part of the building to another. the entire complex is crossed by numerous corridors, the length of which is 30 km. The concentric rings of the Pentagon are connected by 21 bridges. The height of the above-ground part of the building is 23.5 meters. In addition to the above-ground floors, the Pentagon also has 2 underground floors. Also inside the Pentagon were built: 131 stairs, 19 escalators and 13 elevators. In total, about 26 thousand employees, both military and civilian, work in the building. To ensure convenient access to the building, about 50 km of roads were specially laid. Interestingly, each concentric ring building has its own name from A (inner ring) to E (outer ring). The underground floors have 2 rings more, respectively, and are designated from A to G. Each floor also has its own identifier: the basement floors are indicated by the letter "B", and the above-ground floors are numbered from 1 to 5.
4. In the May 1943 issue, LIFE noted that the exterior of the Pentagon "has a facade of gray limestone, although more than half of the building itself consists of sand, gravel and soil from the bottom of the Potomac River." Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images 5. An officer talks to a worker on one of the large exhaust fans at the Pentagon, 1940. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images
Today, the building also houses many cafes and restaurants, such well-known retail chains as McDonald's, Starbucks, Subway, Sbarro, KFC, Panda Express, Pizza Hut, etc. Pentagon employees daily consume about 804 liters of milk, 5 thousand cups of coffee and 7 thousand bottles of drinks. Inside the building there are also offices, a fitness center, 284 lounges, many shops, in particular confectionery, jewelry and flowers. It is believed that their location helps military men brighten up the loneliness of their wives, since they themselves are often delayed at work. The building has 4,200 electronic clocks and 250 light bulbs are replaced daily. 200,000 calls and 1,200,000 messages enter the Pentagon daily.
By the way, the Pentagon has twice as many toilets as it needs. The fact is that at the time of construction in Virginia, the law on segregation was still in force, according to which the toilets for blacks and whites had to be separate. When President Franklin Roosevelt visited the Pentagon in May 1942, he was extremely indignant at this waste of space. As a result, the signs "for whites" and "for blacks" were never installed.
6. A woman at a table among the huge office space of the "Buildings of War". Thomas D. McAvoy—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE. 7. Workers will eventually build seven floors of the Pentagon: five of them above the ground and two below. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE.In the early 1990s, for the first time since construction, a building modernization program was launched. In particular, new ventilation, heating and power supply systems were installed, new computer servers were installed, and the security system was improved.
Exactly 60 years after the start of construction, the Pentagon was subjected to a terrorist attack. On September 11, 2001, a Boeing 757 (American Airlines Flight 77) crashed into the west wing of the building where the US Department of the Army was located. As a result, 125 employees died, and the building itself suffered significant damage. To restore it, 200 km 2 of structures had to be demolished and everything rebuilt. The restoration took over a year.
However, attempts to attack the Pentagon have been made before. For example, in the mid-1990s, bombs came with parcels. One of them destroyed the delivery department, as a result of which the entire mail delivery system was modernized. Recently, due to the growing number of cyber-attacks and terrorist threats, the security of the Pentagon has received increasing attention.
8. Pentagon, 1941. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE. 9. Perhaps no other fact about the construction of the Pentagon is more remarkable than this: LIFE reported that the innovation was that construction began on September 11, 1941 - "already two weeks after design" Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures /Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE.The Pentagon turns 74 this year. During this time, he managed to become the personification of the highest power in the country. The majority of Americans associate the main military decisions with the Pentagon. The Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other departments are located here.
On the 200th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the Pentagon began to conduct tours for the general public. However, they were interrupted after the 9/11 attack. Currently, you can visit the Pentagon only on the condition of a pre-planned excursion. About 100,000 people visit the Pentagon every year.
10. The Pentagon was built in just 16 months for about $83 million. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE. 11. From the curious facts about the Pentagon: the building contains approximately 4,200 hours - all work, one must think, with military precision. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE. 12. Guards in the corridors under construction. The Pentagon boasts 17.5 miles of corridors. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE. 13. The Pentagon has 284 break rooms. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE. 14. View of one of the five sides of the military department at that time. Today the Pentagon is surrounded by 200 hectares of lawns. Thomas D. McAvoy—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images 15. Men at work in the Pentagon, 1941. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE. 16. Paperwork has long been an important part of the Pentagon's work. The postal department produces about 1.2 million mail items per month. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE. 17. A soldier talks to a receptionist, in the new Pentagon building, in 1941. The Pentagon has a private sector: for example, catering is carried out through private civilian operations, under contract with the Pentagon. Thomas D. McAvoy—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images 18. Transferring Pentagon Documentation Files Using Pneumatic Conduit. This old-fashioned way of delivery, which, as it was in the late 1980s, still handles more top-secret information than is trusted by the computers of the Department of Defense. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. Not originally published in LIFE. 19. Official seal of the War Department on chinaware used for private meals at the Pentagon. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images. 20. Part of the furnishings assigned to senior officers in the Pentagon, model 1942. As LIFE wrote in the December issue of that year, the Secretary of War "has a spacious office with carpets and comfortable, soft leather chairs. He sits at a beautiful desk, inherited from every Secretary of War, just like Robert Todd Lincoln in 1883. He has direct access to the White House." Myron Davis-TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images 21. A private kitchen built to cater to high-ranking Pentagon officials and their guests if they don't want to use one of the six canteens. Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images 22. Part of the furnishings for the Secretary of War. LIFE wrote in December 1942: "The only truly happy person in the huge reinforced concrete new building of the War Department is the civilian chief of the army, Henry L. Stimson." (Stimson was Secretary of War at the time. This post would later be eliminated when the Army and Navy were split into separate departments. The position of Secretary of Defense was added to ensure cooperation between them.) Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images 24. In a private restroom that was assigned to the highest ranks of the Pentagon. LIFE noted in May 1943: "A first aid kit, toilet and shower are required, but no bath." Myron Davis—TIME & LIFE Pictures/Getty Images
Pentagon is a Korean boy band made up of 10 trainees under Cube Entertainment. The group consists of 8 Korean...
Korean music artists are confidently gaining leading positions in the song charts not only in their homeland, but also far beyond its borders: in Europe, America, the CIS countries - all over the world. For example, South Korean boy band BTS recently scored a record number of views in the first 24 hours after the release of their IDOL video on YouTube video hosting. The view rate has crossed the 45 million mark! However, the Korean pop industry is rich in other, less popular, but no less talented performers. So let's get acquainted with a group called PENTAGON. Who are these guys? What kind of music can they offer their listener? Find out in the article!
Pentagon is a Korean boy band made up of 10 trainees under Cube Entertainment. The group consists of 8 Korean guys, 1 Chinese and 1 Japanese. They debuted their title track Gorilla on October 10. So, a detailed biography of the Korean group Pentagon in the article below!
Initially, they were supposed to debut in early 2016, however, before that, 10 participants had to pass the TV selection test. Pentagon Maker was the name of the show in which the trainees tried to prove their right to be a member of the group. They had to finish "Pentagraph" to secure their place in the group during the non-debut. Fortunately, in the end, all the members debuted together. A more detailed biography of Pentagon, the history of the formation of the group and its development - further.
On April 26, 2016, music agency Cube Entertainment released the trailer for Come into the World, the first trailer since the company hinted at the formation of a new boy band back in December 2015.
What is interesting in the biography of the Pentagon group? The final line-up was determined during the reality show Pentagon Maker by the South Korean television channel Mne, which was also broadcast over the Internet. Jinho, Hui, Hongseok, Yenan, Yuto, Kino, and Wooseok made it to the end of the show; they were confirmed the status of official members of the group. In addition, the group also includes E'Dawn and Yewon.
The biographies of the members of the Pentagon group are interesting and special in their own way, because each of them has come a long way on the way to success and debut.
So, the official start of the band's career came on July 9, when Pentagon released the songs Young and Find Me. A music video was released to support the first song.
Pentagon's biography reveals that the band originally planned to hold their debut concert on July 23, 2016. It was supposed to be a performance at the Jamsil Indoor stadium. However, Cube Entertainment had to postpone the date of the concert and debut of the group - they explained this by the presence of problems within the company.
As early as January 22, 2017, the guys from the group released a special music video for Pretty Pretty, a track from their second Korean EP called Five Senses.
The first Japanese EP was the mini-LP Gorilla: shortly after the release, on March 29, the track debuted at number three on the Oricon charts. The album consists of six tracks, including Japanese versions of the previously released tracks Gorilla, Can You Feel It, Pretty Pretty and You Are, the album also includes two new Japanese tracks.
On May 18, the group released a new single: the ballad Beautiful. From June 8 to 10, the group's concert was held at the Shinhan Card Fan Hall. It was called Tentastic Vol. 2 and was divided into three days P, T and G, symbolizing the abbreviated name of the group - PTG. During the concert, the boy band showcased various concepts and wowed the audience with their performances.
On June 12, the group released their third Korean EP, which included the title track Critical Beauty (예뻐 죽겠네). It was it that became their first EP, which hit the Billboard World Music Chart at number 14. An interesting fact from the biography of Pentagon members: Yan An was unable to take part in promotions and events dedicated to promoting the album due to a hand injury. On July 24, Pentagon released a surprise music video for their Precious Promise fans.
On September 6, the group released their fourth Korean EP, which included the title track Like This. They held their third solo concert Pentagon Mini Concert Tentastic Vol. 3, Promise at Yes24 in Seoul.
On November 23, the group released their fifth Korean EP. Its title track was the song Runaway. The group subsequently held their fourth solo concert Pentagon Mini Concert Tentastic Vol. 4, Dream at the Blue Square IMarket Music Hall in Seoul.
On January 17, 2018, Pentagon released their second Japanese EP, Violet, which included the title track of the same name. They held their last solo concert Pentagon Mini Concert Tentastic Vol. 5, Miracle on April 1 at the Blue Square I-Market Hall in Seoul.
On April 2, Pentagon released their sixth Korean EP, Positive, with six tracks including the single 빛나리 (Shine).
The start of sales of the Japanese version of the song SHINE fell on August 29. The song was the opening theme for the August episodes of the late-night music program Break Out.
On September 10, Pentagon released their seventh Korean EP Thumbs Up, which has five tracks including the single 청개구리 (Naughty boy).
Triple H (트리플 H in Korean) is a South Korean group formed by music agency Cube Entertainment. The group consists of Korean singer HyunA and Pentagon members Hui and E'Dong. They released two EPs as a group, 199X (2017) and Retro Futurism (2018).
The Triple H trio got this name because HyunA (HyunA) and the members of the Pentagon group - Hui (Hui) and E'Dawn - have the English letter H in their names (Edong's real name is Hyojong). Nevertheless, the members of the trio They admitted that the choice of the group's name was also influenced by an American professional wrestler and champion named Triple H - his personality seems to reflect the mood of the Korean group.
Interesting facts about the biography of EDawn (Pentagon): after E "Dawn and Hyuna announced their relationship in August, on September 13, Cube Entertainment announced the termination of contracts with these two performers, citing the fact that the company could no longer trust them. However After the company's share price plummeted and the fans rioted, the company's management decided to postpone the dismissal of Hyuna and E'Dawn, but Cube Entertainment said they will have to think things through before making a final decision on the matter.
The life of Korean stars is very interesting. Fans are most attracted to the pre-debut part of celebrity life. So, what interesting things do we know about the guys from the Pentagon group?
Hong Seok is a former member of a group formed by television audit organization MIX & MATCH (2014). At the time of participation in Pentagon Maker, the guy already had a lot of fans.
Jinho used to be a trainee from SM Entertainment, however, after turning down his debut under SM Entertainment, he transferred to Cube Entertainment to audition for Pentagon Maker.
Hui is the leader of the group. Interestingly, during the first mission in the Pentagon Maker program, he received the highest score among all participants.
In the Pentagon Maker program, Kino showed the least stability in positions. Before becoming an official member of Pentagon, Kino was in the lead, and then lost ground, showing average results.
Yuuto is Japanese. He is incredibly good at rap, which is why he is in the rap line of the group. Pentagon members refer to him as "Prince Takoyaki".
Yenan was born and raised in China. He is considered a lady's heartbreaker: all thanks to his good figure and radiant white skin!
Wooseok is the youngest member of the group (in Korean show business, they are called maknaes).
E'Dawn has tattoos and considers himself the most adorable member of the group.
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