The government and contractors are both busy with sequestration fears, but with Friday the 13th approaching, I found myself wondering whether triskaidekaphobia was actually a more immediate concern. Knowing that many buildings, particularly older ones, do not have a 13th floor (Otis Elevators puts the figure at 85 percent for the buildings it serves), I scoped to see whether the same is true for government buildings.
Washington, D.C. did not offer any anecdotal answers, as I could not find any federally-owned buildings in the city that are as high as 13 floors.
The Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service (PBS) of the General Services Administration (GSA) do not mention the issue. But I can report that construction contractors have one less thing to worry about, as the PBS’ Robert Buckley confirmed, “So far, GSA has no policy on the 13th floor designation for federal buildings. One of the few buildings in Atlanta that has a 13th floor is the Russell Federal Building.” He added that he would keep checking for additional info.
State government seems to have the same policy, as one message board poster noted the Sloppy Floyd State Office Building in Atlanta also has a 13th floor. In case you were wondering, there are many things in Georgia named after “Sloppy” Floyd, a former state legislator.
Some conspiracy theorists believe that the 13th floors in government buildings are inhabited by secret government agencies that are conducting clandestine operations or observing sinister events and phenomenon.
13s in Government and Contracting
With the floor thing being a non-issue, I will devote the rest of the space to recognizing important 13s in government and contracting.
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