William Ellis Groben, usually known as W. Ellis Groben, is an architect and author. He was Washington (D.C.) Office Architect of the U.S. Forest Service during 1933-1953 and provide professional guidance as the national consulting architect of the service, leading architectural style development.

He was an "outstanding architect" and also talented as an artist.

Groben wrote the important 1940 document "Architectural Trend of Future Forest Service Buildings".

He designed the Forest Services' International Institute of Tropical Forestry

International Institute of Tropical Forestry

The International Institute of Tropical Forestry is a program of the United States Forest Service that was founded in 1939. It is headquartered in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, on the grounds of the University of Puerto Rico's Agricultural Experimental Station....

 building in Puerto Rico.

Groben was "a native of" Philadelphia and studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 and the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He apprenticed in and near Philadelphia, and was hired as Chief Architect for the city of Philadelphia.

He designed three Pennsylvania movie theatres:

• Hiway Theatre, 212 Old York Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046
• Carman Theatre, Germantown Avenue and Roy Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140
• Oxford Theatre, 7209-7211 Rising Sun Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111

In 1936 he designed renovation of the Embassy Theatre, later known as the York Road Theatre.