The station's platforms were accessed via a plaza located at the intersection of Pine Street and 9th Avenue near the Washington State Convention Center and Paramount Theatre.

[6][7] Construction of the northern portal station, later named Convention Place,[8] began after the acquisition of a 16-unit low-income apartment building, a medical center, and several small businesses.

[7][9] SCI Contractors of Calgary was awarded the $74.5 million contract for the Pine Street segment, including Convention Place and Westlake stations, in February 1987.

[24] A 1998 report from Sound Transit stated that a light rail line continuing north from downtown would be unable to use Convention Place due to its shallow height and recommended its abandonment.

Metro and several members of the Sound Transit Board requested that the station be kept and modified in order to serve the expanded convention center, delaying a decision for several months.

[25] In their preferred alternative for the Central Link light rail project, published in 1999, Sound Transit selected a tunnel route that avoids Convention Place.

[26] Sound Transit took ownership of the four southern bus tunnel stations in 2000, while King County Metro retained Convention Place for potential redevelopment into office or hotel use.

[27] Sound Transit began re-evaluating the light rail project in 2001 due to a funding shortfall and the discovery of soil issues along the route of the planned tunnel to the University District.

[28][29] The light rail line was shortened to the segment between Downtown Seattle and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, leaving the remainder to Capitol Hill, the University District, and Northgate for a future expansion.

[36] The ramps from the Interstate 5 express lanes to Convention Place remained open during construction, allowing buses to continue onto 9th Avenue towards Stewart Street.

[37][38] A short tunnel under Pine Street on the south side of the station was also built as a future turnback area for trains and as part of the extension to Capitol Hill.

[53] Under the preliminary agreement, Metro would sell the station for $147 million, to be paid over a period of thirty years with interest, and end bus service in 2019 or 2020.

[54] A finalized sale was approved by the King County Council in June 2017, raising the cost to $162 million and closing the tunnel to buses as early as March 2019.

[69][70] The entrance to the station's plaza was under a pair of prominent white-tube arches that resembled a classic theater marquee, designed by Adams to emulate the Paramount Theatre and New York City's Chrysler Building; at night, the tubes were lit by neon lights.

[68][71] The plaza included seating areas and planters designed by Maren Hassinger, integrating an Asian rock garden and natural forms carved into granite and concrete.

[68][73] The station's support columns and retaining walls were sculpted into artificial cliffs and filled with plants and water features that once formed a waterfall down to the platform level that was designed by Mackie.