Weilerbach is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern , in Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany . It is situated approximately 11 km north-west of Kaiserslautern .
55-591: Weilerbach is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Weilerbach (population about 14,500). Weilerbach was first mentioned in a document from 1214, in which King Friedrich II gave the right of patronage to his loyal Reinhard von Lautern , knight of Hoheneck , for the parish church at Ramstein with its daughter church in Weilerbach ( Wilrebach ) und Spesbach ( Spethisbach ). In 1253, Siegfried von Hoheneck gave these rights and
110-466: A bay number (00 to 99), so office numbers range from 100 to 1099. These corridors radiate out from the central courtyard, with corridor 1 beginning with the Concourse's south end. Each numbered radial corridor intersects with the corresponding numbered group of offices. Corridor 5, for instance, divides the 500 series office block. There are a number of historical displays in the building, particularly in
165-584: A congressional hearing took place, organized by Representative Clifton Woodrum (D-VA), regarding proposals for new War Department buildings. Woodrum pressed Brigadier General Eugene Reybold , who represented the War Department at the hearing, for an "overall solution" to the department's "space problem", rather than building yet more temporary buildings. Reybold agreed to report back to Congress within five days. The War Department called upon its construction chief, General Brehon Somervell , to come up with
220-553: A continuous structure through all of the Pentagon's five floors, kept that section of the building from collapsing for 30 minutes—enough time for hundreds of people to crawl out to safety. The area struck by the plane also had blast-resistant windows—2 inches (5 cm) thick and 2,500 pounds (1,100 kg) each—that stayed intact during the crash and fire. It had fire doors that opened automatically and newly built exits that allowed people to get out. Contractors already involved with
275-770: A group of 20 demonstrators held a sit-in outside the Joint Chiefs of Staff's office, which lasted four days before they were arrested. In one of the better known incidents, on 21 October 1967, some 35,000 anti-war protesters organized by the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam , gathered for a demonstration at the Defense Department (the " March on the Pentagon "). They were confronted by some 2,500 armed soldiers. During
330-445: A lagoon was also created beneath the Pentagon's river entrance. To minimize steel usage, concrete ramps were built rather than installing elevators. Indiana limestone was used for the building's façade. Architectural and structural design work for the Pentagon proceeded simultaneously with construction, with initial drawings provided in early October 1941, and most of the design work completed by 1 June 1942. At times
385-472: A landing dock was used until the late 1960s to ferry personnel between Bolling Air Force Base and the Pentagon. The main entrance for visitors is on the southeast side, as are the Pentagon Metro station and the bus station. There is also a concourse on the southeast side of the second floor of the building, which contains a mini-shopping mall. The south parking lot adjoins the southwest façade, and
440-579: A plan. Government officials agreed that the War Department building, officially designated Federal Office Building No 1, should be constructed in Arlington County, Virginia , across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Requirements for the new building were that it be no more than four stories tall, and that it use a minimal amount of steel to reserve that resource for war needs. The requirements meant that, instead of rising vertically,
495-516: A total of 17.5 mi (28.2 km) of corridors, with a central five-acre (2.0 ha) pentagonal plaza. About 23,000 military and civilian employees work in the Pentagon, as well as about 3,000 non-defense support personnel. In 2001, the Pentagon was damaged during the September 11 attacks . Five Al-Qaeda hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the western side of the building, killing themselves and 184 other people, including 59 on
550-528: Is a low-level administrative unit in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt . A Verbandsgemeinde is typically composed of a small group of villages or towns. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate is divided into 163 Verbandsgemeinden , which are municipal associations grouped within the 24 districts of the state and subdivided into 2,257 Ortsgemeinden (singular Ortsgemeinde ) which comprise single settlements. Most of
605-606: The Verbandsgemeinden were established in 1969. Formerly the name for an administrative unit was Amt . Most of the functions of municipal government for several municipalities are consolidated and administered centrally from a larger or more central town or municipality among the group, while the individual municipalities (Ortsgemeinden) still maintain a limited degree of local autonomy. The 11 districts of Saxony-Anhalt are divided into Verwaltungsgemeinschaften and, since 1 July 2009 also Verbandsgemeinden . Since
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#1732801475838660-489: The Boeing 757 airliner into the western side of the Pentagon at 9:37 am EDT as part of the September 11 attacks . The impact of the plane severely damaged the outer ring of one wing of the building and caused its partial collapse. At the time of the attacks, the Pentagon was under renovation and many offices were unoccupied, resulting in fewer casualties. Due to the renovation work, only 800 people were there, as opposed to
715-678: The Electoral Palatinate with its Oberamt in Lautern. Weilerbach was the local court for the towns of Erzenhausen , Eulenbis , Pörrbach , Rodenbach , Schwedelbach , and Weilerbach as well as the hamlets of Atzenhausen (today known as 'Samuelshof'), Einsiedlerhof , Mückenhof and Schellenberg. The court was composed of the village mayor (a 'Schultheiß'), four laypeople ('Schöffe') and a court reporter from Ramstein. The old roads from Kaiserslautern to Kusel and from Zweibrücken to Bingen am Rhein intersected in Weilerbach, causing
770-582: The Iraq War by marching from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon's north parking lot. On September 11, 2001 , coincidentally the 60th anniversary of the Pentagon’s start of construction, five al-Qaeda affiliated hijackers took control of American Airlines Flight 77 , en route from Washington Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport , and deliberately crashed
825-913: The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland , along with Wise Contracting Company, Inc. and Doyle and Russell, both from Virginia. In addition to the Hoover Airport site and other government-owned land, construction of the Pentagon required an additional 287 acres (1.16 km ), which were acquired at a cost of $ 2.2 million (equivalent to $ 35.2 million in 2023 ). The Hell's Bottom neighborhood, consisting of numerous pawnshops, factories, approximately 150 homes, and other buildings around Columbia Pike ,
880-412: The significant financial commitment to medical facilities to imply an intention for long-term occupation. Concerns about deforestation at the new site, as well as potential for groundwater pollution have also been expressed. The suggested removal of the hospital from Landstuhl has led to concerns that the economy of Landstuhl will suffer. A different view is that a new hospital would be advantageous to
935-570: The "A" and "E" rings. Subterranean floors in the Pentagon are lettered "B" for Basement and "M" for Mezzanine . The concourse is on the second floor at the Metro entrance. Above-ground floors are numbered 1 to 5. Room numbers are given as the floor, concentric ring, and office number (which is in turn the nearest corridor number followed by the bay number). Thus, office 2B315 is on the second floor, B ring, and nearest to corridor 3 (between corridors 2 and 3). One way to get to this office would be to go to
990-565: The European Command. LRMC is also the evacuation and treatment center for all injured U.S. service members and contractors as well as members of 44 coalition forces serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, as well as Africa Command, Central Command, European Command and Pacific Command. Verbandsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde ( German pronunciation: [fɛɐ̯ˈbantsɡəˌmaɪndə] ; plural Verbandsgemeinden )
1045-593: The Heliport. On the north side of the building, the Mall Entrance, which also features a portico, leads out to a 600 ft-long (180 m) terrace that is used for ceremonies. The River Entrance, which features a portico projecting out twenty ft (6 m), is on the northeast side, overlooking the lagoon and facing Washington. A stepped terrace on the River Entrance leads down to the lagoon; and
1100-649: The January 2010 government reform, there are 18 Verbandsgemeinden in Saxony-Anhalt. Other German states have similar administrative units: This Germany -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense , in Arlington County, Virginia , across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building
1155-576: The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the four service branches each have their own ZIP Code. Until the Pentagon was built, the United States Department of War was headquartered in the Munitions Building , a temporary structure erected during World War I along Constitution Avenue on the National Mall . The War Department, which was a civilian agency created to administer the U.S. Army , was spread out in additional temporary buildings on
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#17328014758381210-658: The LRMC with a new facility. Ground breaking took place in October 2014, and the planned completion date is summer 2020. In 2008, the Department of Defense approved $ 400 million to expand and renovate the existing hospital, contingent upon congressional support for the funding. In 2010, the proposal was changed to total replacement and relocation from Landstuhl to Weilerbach, with increased funding of up to $ 1.2 billion (USD). Both plans were met with some opposition, both within
1265-606: The Mont-Tonnerre department . Under this French administration, Weilerbach was made into a Mairie , that in addition to the 751-person town of Weilerbach itself, encompassed the neighboring communities of Erfenbach (298 inhabitants), Erzenhausen (386), Rodenbach (322), Siegelbach (293), and Stockborn (63). Pursuant to agreements made at the Congress of Vienna and the Treaty of Munich (1816) between Bavaria and Austria,
1320-709: The National Mall, as well as dozens of other buildings in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia . In the late 1930s, during the Great Depression and federal construction program, a new War Department Building was constructed at 21st and C Streets in Foggy Bottom but, upon completion, the new building did not solve the department's space problem. It became the headquarters of the Department of State . When World War II broke out in Europe in 1939,
1375-842: The Palatinate was transferred in 1816 to the Kingdom of Bavaria . Under Bavarian administration, Weilerbach remained in the Canton of Kaiserslautern, subpart of the Landkommissariat of Kaiserslautern that in 1862 was renamed to the Bezirksamt Kaiserslautern within the Circle of the Rhine . In 1837, Weilerbach had 1286 inhabitants of whom 525 were Roman Catholic , 746 were Protestant , and 15 were Mennonite . In 1932,
1430-457: The Pentagon are Pentagon City and Crystal City , extensive shopping, business, and high-density residential districts in Arlington . Arlington National Cemetery is to the north. The Pentagon is surrounded by the relatively complex Pentagon road network . The Pentagon has six Washington, D.C., ZIP Codes despite its location in Arlington County, Virginia . The U.S. Secretary of Defense,
1485-657: The Pentagon victims of the September 11 attacks was opened directly southwest of the Pentagon. The Pentagon building spans 28.7 acres (116,000 m ), and includes an additional 5.1 acres (21,000 m ) as a central courtyard. Starting with the north side and moving clockwise , its five façade entrances are the Mall Terrace, the River Terrace, the Concourse (or Metro Station), the South Parking, and
1540-460: The September 11 attacks, a memorial of 184 beams of light shone up from the center courtyard of the Pentagon, one light for each victim of the attack. In addition, an American flag is hung each year on the side of the Pentagon damaged in the attacks, and the side of the building is illuminated at night with blue lights. After the attacks, plans were developed for an outdoor memorial, with construction underway in 2006. This Pentagon Memorial consists of
1595-558: The US and in Germany. Congressional leaders and Pentagon officials have questioned the need and costs of the new hospital, in light of the reduction of forces in Germany, the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and the reduction of the military presence in Afghanistan. Some Germans who deem the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan illegal and are opposed to continued US military presence in Germany consider
1650-620: The War Department rapidly expanded to deal with current issues and in anticipation that the United States would be drawn into the conflict. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson found the situation unacceptable, with the Munitions Building overcrowded and department offices spread out in additional sites. Stimson told U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in May 1941 that the War Department needed additional space. On 17 July 1941,
1705-521: The airplane and 125 in the Pentagon. It was the first significant foreign attack on federal facilities in the capital area since the burning of Washington during the War of 1812 . Following the attacks, the western side of the building was repaired, with a small indoor memorial and chapel added at the point of impact. The coordinated attacks, which killed 2,977 people, were the deadliest terrorist attack in history . In 2009, an outdoor memorial dedicated to
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1760-721: The building was occupied. On the building's main concourse is the Hall of Heroes, opened 1968 and dedicated to the more than 3,460 recipients of the Medal of Honor , the United States' highest military decoration. The three versions of the Medal of Honor – Army, Sea Service (for the Marine Corps , Navy , and Coast Guard ), and Air Force (for the Air Force and Space Force ) – are on display along with
1815-418: The building would be sprawling over a large area. Possible sites for the building included the Department of Agriculture 's Arlington Experimental Farm , adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery , and the obsolete Hoover Field site. The site first chosen was Arlington Farms , which had an asymmetric, roughly pentagonal shape, so the building was planned accordingly as an irregular pentagon. Concerned that
1870-485: The construction work got ahead of the design, with materials used other than those specified in the plans. Pressure to speed up design and construction intensified after the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, with Somervell demanding that 1 million sq ft (9.3 ha) of space at the Pentagon be available for occupation by 1 April 1943. Chief architect Bergstrom resigned in April 1942 after he
1925-407: The design requirements, Somervell required that the structural design accommodate floor loads of up to 150 psi (1,000 kPa), in case the building became a records storage facility after the end of the war. A minimal amount of steel was used as it was in short supply. Instead, the Pentagon was built as a reinforced concrete structure, using 680,000 tons of sand dredged from the Potomac River ;
1980-431: The elevation variations, and cast-in-place piles were used to deal with the soil conditions. Construction of the Pentagon was completed in approximately 16 months at a total cost of $ 83 million (equivalent to $ 1.33 billion in 2023 ). The building's approximate height is 77 ft (23 m), and each of the five sides is 921 ft (281 m) in length. The building was built wedge by wedge; each wedge
2035-562: The establishment of a customs station under the Electoral Palatinate. In 1787, the town had 119 families and 578 inhabitants. The town's buildings included three churches, two parish houses, two school houses, and ninety-three homes. In 1794, the troops of the French Revolution had overtaken Left Bank of the Rhine . From 1798 to 1814, Weilerbach and the surrounding region belong to the Canton of Kaiserslautern in
2090-780: The facility before its dedication, he ordered removal of the "Whites Only" signs in segregated areas. When the Governor of Virginia protested, Roosevelt's administration responded that the Pentagon, although on Virginia land, was under federal jurisdiction. In addition, its military and civilian federal employees were going to comply with the President's policies. As a result, the Pentagon was the only building in Virginia where racial segregation laws were not enforced (these laws were not overturned until 1965). The side-by-side sets of restrooms still exist, but have been integrated in practice since
2145-529: The gunpowder age . On 28 July, Congress authorized funding for a new Department of War building in Arlington , which would house the entire department under one roof. President Roosevelt officially approved the Hoover Airport site on 2 September. While the project went through the approval process in late July 1941, Somervell selected the contractors, including John McShain, Inc. of Philadelphia , which had built Washington National Airport in Arlington,
2200-602: The income therefrom to the Teutonic Order in Kaiserslautern . Pope Alexander IV confirmed in 1258 the Order's possession of Ramstein, Weilerbach, und Spesbach. In 1257, the names Steinmar and Diederich von Weilerbach appear as do the names Hertlin und Theodor von Weilerbach in 1273 as witnesses in documents of the cloister at Lautern and Enkenbach . Until the end of the 18th Century, Weilerbach belonged to
2255-493: The local economy; it would stimulate the state's building industry, with estimates of putting up to one billion dollars (USD) into the local economy over the long term. The proposed new hospital would combine the medical facilities from nearby Ramstein Air Base, and the existing LRMC hospital into one co-located medical center. The LRMC provides treatment for more than 245,000 U.S. military personnel and their families within
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2310-579: The major impetus to gain Congressional approval for the project; Colonel Leslie Groves was responsible for overseeing the project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , which supervised it. The Pentagon is the world's second-largest office building , with about 6.5 million square feet (600,000 m ) of floor space, 3.7 million square feet (340,000 m ) of which are used as offices. It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with
2365-659: The names of recipients. The Hall is also used for promotions, retirements, and other ceremonies. From 1998 to 2011, the Pentagon was completely gutted and reconstructed in phases to bring it up to modern standards and improve security and efficiency. Asbestos was removed and all office windows were sealed. As originally built, most Pentagon office space consisted of open bays which spanned an entire ring. These offices used cross-ventilation from operable windows instead of air conditioning for cooling. Gradually, bays were subdivided into private offices with many using window air conditioning units . With renovations now complete,
2420-497: The new building could obstruct the view of Washington, D.C., from Arlington Cemetery, President Roosevelt selected the Hoover Airport site instead. The building retained the pentagonal layout because Roosevelt liked it and a major redesign at that stage would have been costly. Freed of the constraints of the Arlington Farms site, the building was modified as a regular pentagon . It resembled star forts constructed during
2475-477: The new space includes a return to open office bays, and a new Universal Space Plan of standardized office furniture and partitions. During the late 1960s, the Pentagon became a focal point for protests against the Vietnam War . A group of 2,500 women, organized by Women Strike for Peace , demonstrated outside Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara 's office at the Pentagon on 15 February 1967. In May 1967,
2530-613: The protest, a famous picture was taken, where George Harris placed carnations into the soldiers' gun barrels. The march concluded with an attempt to "exorcise" the building. On 19 May 1972, the Weather Underground Organization bombed a fourth-floor women's restroom, in "retaliation" for the Nixon administration 's bombing of Hanoi in the final stages of the Vietnam War . On 17 March 2007, 4,000 to 15,000 people (estimates vary significantly) protested
2585-412: The renovation were given the added task of rebuilding the sections damaged in the attacks. This additional project was named the " Phoenix Project " and was charged with having the outermost offices of the damaged section occupied by 11 September 2002. When the damaged section of the Pentagon was repaired, a small indoor memorial and chapel were added at the point of impact. For the fifth anniversary of
2640-432: The second floor, get to the A (innermost) ring, go to and take corridor 3, and then turn left on ring B to get to bay 15. It is possible to walk between any two points in the Pentagon in less than ten minutes, though the optimal route may involve a brisk walk, routing through the open-air central courtyard, or both. The complex includes eating and exercise facilities as well as meditation and prayer rooms. Just south of
2695-570: The town of Einsiedlerhof was redistricted from Weilerbach to Kaiserslautern. The Verbandsgemeinde Weilerbach is the site for a new American hospital intended to replace the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) on the Landstuhl Army Base, in nearby Landstuhl, Germany . The LRMC has been active since 1953; Citing the difficulty of maintaining the aging structure, officials have proposed replacing
2750-512: The usual 4,500. Furthermore, the area hit, on the side of the Heliport façade, was the section best prepared for such an attack. The renovation there, improvements which resulted from the Oklahoma City bombing , had nearly been completed. It was the only area of the Pentagon with a sprinkler system, and it had been reconstructed with a web of steel columns and bars to withstand bomb blasts. The steel reinforcement, bolted together to form
2805-412: The west side of the Pentagon faces Washington Boulevard . The concentric rings are designated from the center out as "A" through "E" with additional "F" and "G" rings in the basement. "E" Ring offices are the only ones with outside views and are generally occupied by senior officials. Office numbers go clockwise around each of the rings, and have two parts: a nearest-corridor number (1 to 10), followed by
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#17328014758382860-565: Was charged with unrelated improper conduct as president of the American Institute of Architects . David J. Witmer replaced Bergstrom on 11 April. Construction was completed 15 January 1943. Soil conditions of the site – on the Potomac River floodplain – presented challenges, as did the varying elevations across the site, which ranged from ten to forty ft (3 to 12 m) above sea level. Two retaining walls were built to compensate for
2915-416: Was cleared to make way for the Pentagon. Later, 300 acres (1.2 km ) of land were transferred to Arlington National Cemetery and to Fort Myer , leaving 280 acres (1.1 km ) for the Pentagon. Contracts totaling $ 31,100,000 (equivalent to $ 497 million in 2023 ) were finalized with McShain and the other contractors on 11 September 1941, and ground was broken for the Pentagon the same day. Among
2970-501: Was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II . 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 11 September 1941, and the building was dedicated on 15 January 1943. General Brehon Somervell provided
3025-433: Was occupied as soon as it was completed, even as construction continued on the remaining wedges. The Pentagon was designed in accordance with the racial segregation laws in force in the state of Virginia at the time, with separate eating and lavatory accommodations for white and black persons. While the sets of lavatories were side by side, the dining areas for blacks were located in the basement. When Roosevelt visited
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