Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Story
January 7, 1943
Montgomery County Sentinel
Rockville, Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Maryland
What is this article about?
A journalist's visit to the Pentagon, described as a vast 'city' housing 40,000 war department workers, highlighting its maze-like corridors, wartime expansion, and symbolic role in the effort against the Axis.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
Washington's Second City
-The Pentagon
"This ain't a building-this is a city with a roof over it. that's what I calls it."
This was the remark of my dusky skinned guide between bites of a ham sandwich which one of his colleagues had offered him as we made our journey through the maze of corridors in that amazing building.
The Pentagon, in Washington, which houses the war department.
It is a city, for it houses no less than 40,000 workers. When they leave, they begin at 4:30 p. m., one group after another every ten minutes. Otherwise, all the busses and cabs and private cars that jam the labyrinth of highways, which cost $150,000 a mile to build, would never be able to take care of them.
Recently I took a cab with an inexperienced driver.
I'm afraid I took the hard way.
There were four policemen at the door and a huge receptionist desk.
I found my proper stall, labeled "Press," and showed my pass to the girl. She had never heard of me or the Western Newspaper Union or the Blue Network, and she spelled my name wrong three times. However, I was eventually moved up to a waiting bench and finally a guide appeared and escorted me to the officer I wished to see.
We passed two beverage rooms on the way and as I was somewhat exhausted, I dropped into one for a soft drink and a cigar.
It took me 30 minutes from the time I got in the building to the time I reached my destination, and some of the people there told me they had already been waiting longer than that.
The officer whom I was visiting had an inside office. He told me that if the lights ever went out, they would be in pitch blackness at noon, for, of course, there were no windows. I asked what would happen if the ventilating system broke down.
He said he had not thought of that.
I had-and I imagine the air would get pretty bad before very many minutes if the air conditioner ceased to work.
This huge institution is only a fraction of the expansion of Washington which has been caused by the war, but it is a concrete symbol of the tremendous clerical effort required to beat the Axis.
-The Pentagon
"This ain't a building-this is a city with a roof over it. that's what I calls it."
This was the remark of my dusky skinned guide between bites of a ham sandwich which one of his colleagues had offered him as we made our journey through the maze of corridors in that amazing building.
The Pentagon, in Washington, which houses the war department.
It is a city, for it houses no less than 40,000 workers. When they leave, they begin at 4:30 p. m., one group after another every ten minutes. Otherwise, all the busses and cabs and private cars that jam the labyrinth of highways, which cost $150,000 a mile to build, would never be able to take care of them.
Recently I took a cab with an inexperienced driver.
I'm afraid I took the hard way.
There were four policemen at the door and a huge receptionist desk.
I found my proper stall, labeled "Press," and showed my pass to the girl. She had never heard of me or the Western Newspaper Union or the Blue Network, and she spelled my name wrong three times. However, I was eventually moved up to a waiting bench and finally a guide appeared and escorted me to the officer I wished to see.
We passed two beverage rooms on the way and as I was somewhat exhausted, I dropped into one for a soft drink and a cigar.
It took me 30 minutes from the time I got in the building to the time I reached my destination, and some of the people there told me they had already been waiting longer than that.
The officer whom I was visiting had an inside office. He told me that if the lights ever went out, they would be in pitch blackness at noon, for, of course, there were no windows. I asked what would happen if the ventilating system broke down.
He said he had not thought of that.
I had-and I imagine the air would get pretty bad before very many minutes if the air conditioner ceased to work.
This huge institution is only a fraction of the expansion of Washington which has been caused by the war, but it is a concrete symbol of the tremendous clerical effort required to beat the Axis.
What sub-type of article is it?
Historical Event
Curiosity
What themes does it cover?
Triumph
What keywords are associated?
Pentagon
Washington
War Department
Wartime Expansion
Bureaucracy
Corridors
Where did it happen?
The Pentagon, Washington
Story Details
Location
The Pentagon, Washington
Event Date
Recently
Story Details
A journalist tours the massive Pentagon, guided through its corridors, experiences entry delays, and learns of its role in wartime administration symbolizing the effort to defeat the Axis.