This station opened on April 24, 1937, as part of an extension of the Independent Subway System's Queens Boulevard Line.

[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.

However, the stops to the east, including Van Wyck Boulevard, still needed to be tiled and did not have stairways, turnstiles and lighting installed.

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

[33] In early 1982, in an attempt to cover up empty advertising panels that had been vandalized, students at the nearby PS 117 painted 14 murals at the Van Wyck Boulevard station.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) provided funding for the newer murals as part of its Adopt-a-Station program.

[37]: 9–10  Service at local stations, such as Briarwood–Van Wyck Boulevard, was replaced by the R, which was extended to 179th Street from Continental Avenue.

[42] The test started on October 26, 1992, and was implemented on a permanent basis six months later, eliminating express service along Hillside Avenue.

[43][40] In the late 1990s, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed constructing a ventilation shaft near the Van Wyck Boulevard station.

[44] The station's exits were rebuilt during the 2010s as part of the Kew Gardens Interchange reconstruction project, which includes replacement of the Queens Boulevard overpass over Van Wyck Expressway.

[47] A new entrance was built next to Archbishop Molloy High School on Main Street, replacing an exit that had been closed since 2010.

[48] Another entrance was built on the south side of Queens Boulevard between the Van Wyck Expressway's service and main roads, across from Maple Grove Cemetery.

[49] The project started in 2010 and was originally supposed to have been completed by 2016, with a new elevator entrance and rebuilt, widened mezzanine corridors.

[51] A new staircase entrance, on the northwest corner of Queens Boulevard and Main Street, was opened in December 2014.

[55][56] The delays were caused by the need to install emergency systems; in the meantime, some riders chose to travel 0.5 miles (0.80 km) away to the nearest wheelchair-accessible station, Union Turnpike.

[54] In 2019, the MTA announced that the Briarwood station would become fully ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.

[61] This local station, which is located directly under the Van Wyck Expressway's southbound service road, has four tracks and two side platforms.

[65] The platforms have Slate blue I-beam columns, a Jasmine yellow tile trim with black borders, and name tablets reading "VAN WYCK BLVD."

The small tile captions running below the trim line retain the original "VAN WYCK" name.

The open southern half is separated into three sections with chain-link fences; fare control is in the middle due to the need to have a pedestrian underpass under Queens Boulevard.

The connection uses trackways that were constructed at the same time as the station, part of the section of the Queens Boulevard Line from Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike to 169th Street.

The original plans had a line diverging south of Briarwood, running down what is now the Van Wyck Expressway to Rockaway Boulevard near modern John F. Kennedy International Airport.

[71] The current Archer Avenue plans emerged in the 1960s under the city and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s Program for Action.

[76][77] Furthermore, the existing name memorialized Robert Anderson Van Wyck, the first mayor of the City of Greater New York, who had been accused of corruption.

[84][85] In the 1988 comedy film Coming to America, Eddie Murphy's character, Akeem, tries to persuade his love interest to marry him and go to Zamunda, a fictional kingdom in Africa.