The station opened on August 19, 1933, as part of the Independent Subway System's Queens Boulevard Line.

[3][5][6] The Queens Boulevard Line was in part financed by a Public Works Administration (PWA) loan and grant of $25 million.

E trains ran local to Hudson Terminal (today's World Trade Center) in Manhattan, while the GG (predecessor to current G service) ran as a shuttle service between Queens Plaza and Nassau Avenue on the IND Crosstown Line.

The reason for this was because the original 1933 IND tile sign read "Jamaica and Rockaway", anticipating construction of a never-built system expansion.

There are also mosaic name tablets reading "65TH ST." in white sans-serif lettering on a black background and purple border.

Small tile captions reading "65TH ST" in white lettering on black run below the trim line, and directional signs in the same style are present below some of the name tablets.

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