Where Is the Pentagon?

Many people believe the Pentagon is in Washington, D.C., but that is not the case. In fact, the Pentagon, where the United States Department of Defense is headquartered, is in Arlington, Virginia, which is across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. There is no street address for the Pentagon, but the facility does have four ZIP codes.

More facts about the Pentagon:

• The Pentagon was constructed from 1941 and 1943, and its architect was George Edwin Bergstrom. The construction was managed by U.S. Army engineers and provided the first unified facility to house all branches of the U.S. military.


• The interior of the Pentagon includes 131 stairways and 4,200 clocks. There also are 691 drinking fountains in hallways and other areas of the Pentagon.


• On an average day, more than 200,000 telephone calls are made from the Pentagon.