The Sixth Avenue Line platforms opened in 1940, completing construction of the first phase of the Independent Subway System (IND).

[5]: 21  However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature authorized the Rapid Transit Act.

[8] The Dual Contracts were formalized in March 1913, specifying new lines or expansions to be built by the IRT and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT).

[13] In July 1920, the New York State Public Service Commission announced it would extend the Flushing Line two stops west to Times Square, with an intermediate station under Bryant Park.

Since work on the project had to be completed underneath the foundations of several large buildings, such as theatres, and the north end of the New York Public Library, the contractor had to provide a $1 million bond.

[18] The project was expected to reduce crowding on the 42nd Street Shuttle by enabling riders to use the Queensboro Subway to directly access Times Square.

[24] Local civic groups advocated for the Fifth Avenue station to be used as a temporary terminal while the permanent terminus at Times Square was being completed.

[31][32][33] Even so, many Flushing Line passengers traveling from Queens to the West Side of Manhattan tended to transfer to the shuttle at Grand Central, rather than leave the train at Fifth Avenue.

[41][42] The New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) announced in January 1950 that it would lengthen the platforms at the Times Square and Fifth Avenue stations from 480 to 554 feet (146 to 169 m).

[53] The city government issued corporate stock to pay for the $53 million cost of the project, since the line was not eligible for federal Public Works Administration funds.

[63][66] Workers used small charges of dynamite to avoid damaging nearby buildings or the Catskill Aqueduct, which ran below Sixth Avenue and was a major part of the New York City water supply system.

[64] Contractors constructed subway entrances at 40th and 42nd Street, and portions of the parapet wall surrounding Bryant Park were temporarily removed in the process.

[71] In advance of the 1939 New York World's Fair, La Guardia proposed installing a visitors' gallery in the 42nd Street station, detailing the Sixth Avenue Line's construction.

[74] The administration of mayor William O'Dwyer studied the possibility of converting the IND mezzanine and the adjacent passageway to Herald Square into a parking garage in mid-1946.

[82] Starting on December 18, 1967, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) provided paper tickets to passengers, allowing them to transfer between the IND and IRT stations for free during weekdays in the peak direction.

[85] About half of the tunnel was decorated with terrazzo floors; orange brick and tile walls; glass and steel railings; and recessed lighting.

The murals depicted historical and present-day structures at Bryant Park, including the Latting Observatory and New York Crystal Palace.

[87] In the late 1970s, the Flushing Line platform was painted beige as part of Operation Facelift, a system-wide refurbishment program led by Phyllis Cerf Wagner.

[143] At the western end of the passageway (along the wall of the IND station's southern mezzanine) are depictions of dark rocks and plants, as well as a quote from philosopher Carl Jung: "Nature must not win the game, but she cannot lose".

[146] The exhibits in the light boxes have included "The Great Escape", a series of nature-inspired photographs by Karine Laval, which were displayed starting in 2021.

In response, on March 28, 1991, the NYCTA ordered the closing of the 15 most dangerous passageways in the system within a week, which the Transit Police and citizen advocacy groups had called for since the previous year.

Bureaucratic delays had prevented their closure, with their presentation to the MTA Board not scheduled until April 1991, after a public hearing on systemwide service reduction was to be held.

Outside fare control, there are three staircases going up to the northwest, northeast, and southeast corners of 40th Street and Sixth Avenue with the northwestern one being built inside a building.

A single stair on the southwest corner of 5th Avenue and 42nd Street (in front of the New York Public Library Main Branch) goes down to an area with a turnstile bank.

[141]: 123  Past the HEETs, two stairs ascend to the south side of 42nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues on the northern edge of Bryant Park.

[3] Both outer track walls have a scarlet red trim line with a chocolate brown border and small tile captions reading "42" in white on black run below them at regular intervals.

Red I-beam columns run along both sides of both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black station name plate in white lettering.

The ceiling of the platform level is held up by columns located every 15 feet (4.6 m), which support girders underneath the station's full-length mezzanine.

[3] The ceiling of the platform level is held up by columns located every 15 feet (4.6 m), which support girders underneath the station's full-length mezzanine.

Part of a pilot program to increase retail activity within the MTA system, it capitalized on a new trend in vending machine development when it was installed in 2013.