Ridership at 169th Street station declined significantly following the opening of the Archer Avenue lines in 1988.

The Queens Boulevard Line was one of the first built by the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND), and was planned to stretch between the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and 178th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.

[12] The line was constructed using the cut-and-cover tunneling method, and to allow pedestrians to cross, temporary bridges were built over the trenches.

[17] Construction was further delayed due to a strike in 1935, instigated by electricians opposing wages paid by the General Railway Signal Company.

[18] In April 1936, William Jerome Daly, the secretary of the New York City Board of Transportation, stated, in response to requests for a stop at 178th Street, that constructing a station at that location would prevent express service from operating past 71st Avenue.

He said that with a final station at 169th Street, express trains could run to Parsons Boulevard, and that if the line was extended to Springfield Boulevard as planned, express service could be extended past 178th Street with a yard east of the new terminal.

However, the plans were changed to terminate the express trains at Parsons Boulevard, requiring the installation of switches.

Since construction of the tunnel was already completed in this section, a few hundred feet of the wall separating the eastbound and westbound train tracks had to be removed to fit the two switches.

[28] This extension was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Parsons Boulevard station and with a parade along Hillside Avenue.

Therefore, the line was planned to be extended to 184th Place with a station at 179th Street containing two island platforms, sufficient entrances and exits, and storage for four ten-car trains.

[31] Delayed due to the Great Depression and World War II, the extension was completed later than expected and opened on December 11, 1950.

[34] On May 13, 1951, all F trains outside of rush hour were extended to 179th Street using the local tracks beyond Parsons Boulevard.

[40] Before the IND Archer Avenue Line opened on December 11, 1988, all Queens Boulevard express trains (E and F trains) ran to 179th Street, with the E running express along Hillside Avenue during rush hours only and the F running local.

[44] The opening of the Archer Avenue Line was expected by the New York City Transit Authority to reduce rush hour ridership at this station from 12,912 to 6,058.

The locations of the station's full-time and part-time booths were switched in 1988, since more than half of the remaining riders lived closer to the 169th Street entrance.

Small "169" and directional tile captions in white lettering on a black background run below the trim line and name tablets.

[53][54] Lime green I-beams run along the platforms and mezzanine at regular intervals, alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white lettering.

[62] Due to low clearance, a "DO NOT JUMP" message in black letters is painted on the white tiles of the ceiling above one of the 179th Street-bound staircases.

The outer walls of this trough are composed of columns, spaced approximately every 5 feet (1.5 m) with concrete infill between them.

[64][59] When it was originally built, the station had staffed token booths at both fare control areas.