On December 9, 1924, the New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) gave preliminary approval to the construction of a subway line along Eighth Avenue, running from 207th Street.

This station was to have only been served by Eighth Avenue trains heading north toward 168th Street in Washington Heights.

On November 21, 1926, it was announced that the BOT had agreed to construct a stop at this location for the Queens Boulevard Line.

The lower level served by the E is located at the southern end of the Queens Boulevard Line and has two tracks and two side platforms, separated by a curtain wall for the majority of the station.

The platform walls on both levels have no trim line, but there are mosaic name tablets reading "50TH ST." in white sans-serif lettering on an Ultra Violet background with black border.

Small tile captions reading "50" in white lettering on black run in regular intervals between the name tablets, and are also present on the lower level's curtain wall.

Blueberry I-beam columns run along all the platforms at regular intervals, alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white lettering.

An untitled etched-granite piece of artwork by Matt Mulligan was installed on the downtown upper-level platform in 1989 and features neighborhood life.

The mezzanine contains stairs and escalators to One Worldwide Plaza's facade at the northwest corner of Eighth Avenue and 49th Street.