Happy 75th Anniversary to the Pentagon

At six and a half million square feet, the Pentagon is one of the largest office buildings in the world. Designed by American George Berstrom and built by contractor John McShain, the facility was dedicated on January 15, 1943. Originally slated to be located on Arlington Farm, Bergstrom had to work around existing roads to fit the structure onto the property, hence the five-sided design. The building was deemed too small and a new site selected across the Potomac. Time was tight, so the original design was kept.

Architect George Bergstrom

Construction began on September 11, 1941 and headed up by the Army Corps of Engineers. After the  attack on Pearl Harbor, the project was accelerated and the number of workers rose from 3,000 to over 10,000, at one point peaking at nearly 15,000. Shifts worked round the clock to meet the deadline, and the first employees were able to move in during April 1942.

Here are some fun facts:

• 410,000 cubic tons of concrete were used, made from 700,000 tons of sand dredged from the Potomac River.
• The site on which it is built was part of Robert E. Lee’s farm.
• There are 17.5 miles of corridors, and the central plaza is five acres in size.
• It has twice as much office space as the Empire State Building, and the Capitol could fit into just one of the Pentagon’s five sides
• There are 284 bathrooms, twice as many needed because segregation was still in effect. However, FDR signed an executive order prohibiting segregation, and the facility became the only integrated building in Virginia.
• In order to conserve steel (in short supply because of the war), there are no elevators. 

I lived in the Washington, DC area for almost twenty-five years and often passed this intriguing site. However, I was never fortunate enough to participate in a tour. What is your favorite federal building?

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Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, journalist, blogger, and history geek. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry, Linda has lived in historical places most of her life. She is a volunteer docent at the Wright Museum of WWII and a Trustee for her local public library. Active in her church Linda serves as treasurer, usher, and choir member. She has written a number of historical romances and mysteries. To find out more about Linda and her books visit www.LindaShentonMatchett.com.

The Alaskan Highway and WWII

Seventy-five years ago this month, the Alaskan Highway (or Al-Can) was completed after eight months of back-breaking work in temperatures that ranged from ninety degrees above to seventy degrees below zero. In fact, a recruiting notice warned “men will have to fight swamps, rivers, ice, and cold. Mosquitos, flies, and gnats will not only be annoying, but cause bodily harm. If you are not prepared to work under these and similar conditions, do not apply.”

Obviously not a job for the faint of heart!

Al-Can workers camp

Discussions about the necessity of a road connecting Canada and the United States had been held on  and off since the mid-1920s, with the idea first coming to light during the Yukon gold rush in the 1890s. Feasibility studies were conducted during the 1930s to determine possible routes, but it wasn’t until the attack on Pearl Harbor that work begin in earnest. The U.S. government had grave concerns that the Japanese would follow their destruction of the Pacific Naval fleet with an invasion of Alaska.

There were four routes considered for the highway, but each had serious drawbacks. As a result, a fifth route that combined the best features of A, B, and C was devised. The catch? The path had not been surveyed, so the Army Corp of Engineers would have to work out the details as construction occurred. Once the political details were nailed down (the U.S. and Canada had to decide who paid for what, who owned what, etc.), the project commenced on March 8, 1942.

Colonel (later Brigadier General) William Hoge was put in charge. A West Point graduate and veteran of WWI, he later handled putting in bridges and roads on the jungle-filled Bataan Peninsula. The plan for the Al-Can was to start at each end and meet in the middle. Winter still held Alaska in its grip when construction commenced, and progress was slow. Until the big equipment could arrive, supplies were brought in by dog sled, and workers used shovels and pick-axes to carve out the road.

With the Japanese attack on the Aleutian Islands in June 1942, and realizing the project needed more men if it was to be completed on schedule, the War Department sent African America troops to fill the staffing void. At a time when the army was still segregated, this was a highly unusual decision and not made lightly. Ultimately 11,000 troops and 7,500 civilians were assigned to the project.

The two road segments were linked on October 25, 1942, creating a road nearly 1,700 miles in length. (With repaving and rerouting, it has been since reduced to 1,387 miles). A ribbon-cutting celebration was held on November 20th, and supply trucks and other vehicles began to rumble up and down its length. Permits to travel the road were required, and it was not open to civilian use until two years after the war. Deemed a “modern wonder of the world” at its completion, the project cost over $138 million dollars.

A freelance writer for over ten years, Linda Shenton Matchett is the author of several romance novellas. Under Fire, the first in her trilogy about WWII War Correspondent/Amateur Sleuth Ruth Brown was released in July by eLectio Publishing, Amazon, or your favorite independent bookstore. Visit Linda at www.LindaShentonMatchett.com.