Frederick Corser was born in Rochester, New York on June 12, 1849. He received his early education in the Rochester Free Academy and studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He came to Minneapolis about 1877 and entered partnership the next year with Charles F. Haglin in a contracting firm. In 1881 the partnership was dissolved and Corser opened his own office which he maintained until his death. He served as the editor of Western Architect (1902-1905), as architect for the Minneapolis Fire Department for an unspecified period of time, and was a charter member of the Western Association of Architects (1884), a forerunner of the state AIA organization. Corser died in Minneapolis on September 23, 1924.

Corser designed many prominent buildings in the area, including Wesbrook Hall (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1895-6), St. Steven's Roman Catholic Church (1888-1889); Home for the Aged (1895) Kenneseth Israel Synagogue (n.d.); and the Frank Griswold residence (ca. 1885), all in Minneapolis; Fargo (North Dakota) Central High School (1882); and many residences and public buildings in numerous towns and cities in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.