The Pentagon The Pentagon The Pentagon, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase "The Pentagon" is often used as a metonym for the Department of Defense and its leadership. The building was designed by American architect George Bergstrom and built by contractor John McShain. Ground was broken on September 11, 1941, and the building was dedicated on January 15, 1943. General Brehon Somervell provided the major motivating power behind the project; Colonel Leslie Groves was responsible for overseeing the
Construction of the Virginia approaches to Arlington Memorial Bridge state, so long as it did not skirt the county. Only by building the road through Arlington County could the NCPC's goal of increased urbanization be met, they said, and both agencies urged the state and the county to make their choice quickly. The CFA continued to study how Virginia should best connect to Arlington Memorial Bridge in 1929, and another set of preliminary plans were submitted by William Kendall in July 1930. But few of the problems facing the various plans were solved by November 1930, and the state and county still declined to choose an approach route. By