This station was constructed as part of the Dual Contracts by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and opened in 1918.

Following the completion of the original subway, there were plans to construct a line along Manhattan's east side north of 42nd Street.

In July 1911, the IRT had withdrawn from the talks, and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was to operate on Lexington Avenue.

[8][9] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Upper East Side and the Bronx.

[16][17] A renovation of the 103rd Street station was funded as part of the MTA's 1980–1984 capital plan.

The 1990 ceramic artwork here is called Neo-Boriken by Nitza Tufiño, based on the neighborhood's Caribbean and Latin American heritage.

(Puerto Rican Organization for Growth Research Education and Self Sufficiency) helped to fund the murals.