Frederick H. Strong was born in Portland, Oregon, in February 1879. His grandfather, William Strong, had been one of the first federal judges in the Oregon Territory. Strong received his education at Portland Academy and Yale University, graduating from the latter in 1902. He then worked for the Ladd and Tilton bank in Portland, becoming manager. From 1908 to 1928, he was the president of the Ladd Estate Company. Later, he was president of the Public Market Company, which managed the Portland Public Market building until the sale of the building to the Oregon Journal in 1946. Strong retired in 1950. He was married to Clara Knowlton, with whom he had a son, Dexter, and a daughter, Elizabeth. Strong died in October 1953.

The Portland Public Market was a building on SW Front Avenue in Portland, Oregon. It was constructed in 1933 for an advertised cost of $1 million. The market's owners were the plaintiffs in the case Public Market Co. v. City of Portland, in which they sued the city for breach of contract. In 1946, the Oregon Supreme Court decided in the market owners' favor, and ordered the city to pay damages. Also during this time, the building struggled to retain tenants, and in 1943 it was leased to the United States Navy. In 1946, it was sold to the Oregon Journal newspaper, which used it as the newspaper's offices from 1948 until 1961. The Public Market building then sat empty until it was demolished in 1969 by the City of Portland. The site later became part of Tom McCall Waterfront Park.