One of the world’s most famous buildings, The Pentagon, alongside the Potomac River in Arlington County, has become the symbol of U. S. military might and America’s position as a world superpower. The Pentagon Office Building Complex grew out of a need to centralize the War Department units. Spurred on by the outbreak of World War II, planning commenced in 1941 and a site near Arlington National Cemetery was chosen. War Department architects G. Edward Bergstrom and David J. Witman designed what was to be the world’s largest office building, containing some 6,240,000 square feet. The distinctive five-sided building was completed in the remarkably short period of sixteen months in 1941-42, in time to accommodate wartime command. The main elevations of The Pentagon employed the stripped classicism widely used for federal buildings. The vast Pentagon building still houses the U. S. Department of Defense, the command center of the mightiest military force in world history.

An updated nomination for The Pentagon was prepared to bring the documentation up to current standards; to clarify and adjust the historic district boundary; and to identify character-defining features. Most importantly, the updated nomination to documents the Pentagon Renovation program, the events of the 9/11 terrorist attack, the subsequent Phoenix Project, and the design and creation of the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial. At the time of this updated nomination, the Pentagon’s 9/11 Memorial is the only one of the three airplane crash sites to be listed in the National Register. The Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania was designated by Congress as a national memorial site that is now managed by the National Park Service. The privately-owned 9/11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in New York City has been determined eligible for listing in the National Register.
[2023 Updated Nomination NRHP Approved: 9/11/2023]