A History of the Architecture of the USDA Forest Service

W. Ellis Groben
Washington Office Architect (1933-1953)

Ellis Groben was a product of the East, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Pennsylvania for undergraduate architectural training and then went to the Ecole des Beaux Arts School of Architectural Design in Paris, France, for his postgraduate education.

He entered into apprenticeship training in and around Philadelphia. His early practice was with architectural firms on the east coast. He was hired as Chief Architect for the city of Philadelphia, but a political upset there forced him to seek other employment. After spending some time doing residential design, he was employed by T.W. Norcross, Chief Engineer of the Forest Service, as the national consulting architect. When he arrived he looked the part, with a flowing mustache and goatee.

In the early years, Groben produced concepts for Forest Service structures, which were detailed by his draftsman, Ed Hamilton. Groben enjoyed making elaborate renderings of his building concepts; his drawing of the proposed headquarters building for the Tropical Forest Experiment Station in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico (figure 3-3), hangs in the lobby of the building today. He also spent considerable time relocating his automobile about the streets of southwest Washington, DC, to minimize his violations of the overtime parking ordinance. [1]

Figure 3-3. Rendering of the Tropical Forestry Building, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, by Ellis Groben (1939)

Almost all we know of Groben's architectural philosophy comes from three major documents he signed. The first of these and the most extensive is "Acceptable Plans for Forest Service Buildings," dated 1938. This is a large collection of plans and elevations selected by Groben from all of the various Regions of the Forest Service and other Federal land management agencies. He states in the Preface: "The majority of plans and elevations have been reproduced in their entirety, as prepared by the respective regional offices; others have been slightly modified to correct or improve minor details without changing their general scheme."

The second document, written in 1940, is "Architectural Trend of Future Forest Service Buildings." In the first paragraph, Groben states: "The external design of Forest Service buildings calls for a greater display of imagination and inventive genius than heretofore, in order to give them sufficient individual character to definitely express their purpose and the particular Federal agency to which they belong."

He was upset by the eclectic trends of the architectural profession of this time. He said: "The almost universal practice, now commonly in vogue in a number of Regions, of always employing the conventional urban styles of architecture for Forest Service buildings generally, could be discontinued advantageously for styles which are more expressive of the Forest Service itself, and, at the same time, more appropriate to the diverse conditions, respective locations and particular environments in which they are to be erected." He goes on to say: "No one architectural style can serve universally to adequately represent any particular Federal agency because the country itself is too vast in extent and too varied in character to permit of it with any degree of success. For example, the Colonial style is incongruous in regions where, due to traditional usage, it has been found that the Mexican, Spanish, or Ranch types are appropriate and practical. The contrary is equally true. As in most of his documents, he follows up with plans to explain.

He concludes this document with: "Engineering, Washington Office, welcomes the opportunity of reviewing any sketches which may be submitted for its special consideration, comments and suggestions, etc., in advance of actual construction in order to assist insofar as possible, in improving matters of architectural design.

The last of the three documents, the "Improvement Handbook," focuses on the construction and maintenance of Forest Service buildings. George Nichols, Regional Architect, Region 4, prepared most of the text from reviewing handbooks and bulletins from the various Regions. Groben states in the Preface: "The purpose of this handbook is to make available the methods and standards recognized as good practice in building structural improvements on the national forests to Forest Service engineers, architects, and men engaged in construction."

All three of these documents provided strong leadership to the new architects emerging in all of the Forest Service Regions. As stated in chapter 1, Eras, there is no record of a Forest Service architect prior to the 1930's. Ellis Groben established an effective standard from his position as National Consulting Architect of the agency. Without his voice from Washington, DC, the course of the history of Forest Service architecture could have been as diverse as the many forests in this Nation. Groben put his skills as both designer and public administrator to work guiding the Forest Service as it worked to create its own style of architecture.

In the summer of 1944, Groben made his first visit to a forest west of the Mississippi: he went to Montana on a monitoring trip, meeting with Clyde Fickes. Fickes thought some of his reactions to western conditions and practices were most interesting, and at times very amusing. Groben remarked time and again as they drove through the forests about the amount of dead timber lying on the ground. Groben asked why it wasn't being gathered up and being put to some use. As a student in France and Germany, he had observed how the ground or floor of the forests was kept clean and free of debris. Fickes found it difficult to convince him that we were not overlooking a productive phase of forest management. [2]

Groben had one bad habit that was disliked by the architects in the various Regions. When the architects sent him copies of preliminary plans and sketches for his review and recommendations, he would make his comments and corrections in red pencil on the original documents. These included fully rendered color drawings that were ruined by Groben's additions and comments. This was the way professors in architecture schools in Europe and the United States dealt with their students.

Groben was not only an outstanding architect who designed many public buildings, but he was also an artist of real ability. He prepared plaques for Gifford Pinchot, to commemorate his 80th birthday, and Evan Kelly, upon his retirement. Some of his artwork is illustrated on the following pages (figures 3-4 through 3-6).

Figure 3-4. Drawing by Ellis Groben to commemorate the retirement of Evan Kelley (1944)

Figure 3-5. Drawing by Ellis Groben to commemorate the 80th birthday of Gifford Pinchot, former Chief of the Forest Service (1945)

Figure 3-6. Poster drawn by Ellis Groben to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Forest Service (1955)

Notes

1. USDA Forest Service, The History of Engineering in the Forest Service, p. 362

2. Fickes, Recollections.