[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.

[16] On December 18, 1931, Robert Moses, president of the Long Island State Park Commission, announced that the New York City Board of Transportation halted work on the construction of the station to revise the plan for the underpass under Queens Boulevard to eliminate a bottleneck.

[24] Construction was further delayed due to a strike in 1935, instigated by electricians opposing wages paid by the General Railway Signal Company.

[24] On December 31, 1936, the IND Queens Boulevard Line was extended by eight stops, and 3.5 miles (5.6 km), from its previous terminus at Roosevelt Avenue to Union Turnpike.

[30][31] New apartment buildings were being built as a result of the subway line, and it transformed both Forest Hills and Kew Gardens from quiet residential communities of one-family houses to active population centers.

[40] In the 1950s, an unfinished stairway leading to the busy Q44A bus stop on the north side of Queens Boulevard at 78th Avenue was completed.

[44] In August 1988, as part of the MTA's Arts for Transit program, a series of wooden sculptures depicting cirrus clouds made by Krystyna Spisak-Madejczyk, titled "Underground Skies-Cloud Forest", was installed on either side of the twenty support columns in the station's western mezzanine.

[45] In July 2006, the MTA began work on an $13.9 million project to make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

[53][54] Midnight blue I-beam columns run along both platforms, alternating ones having the standard black station name plate reading "Union T'pke" in white lettering.

[6] On many of the columns separating the express tracks are old white signs that read "UNION TPKE" in black lettering, though several have been removed.

[57] However, the western (railroad south) half, which serves riders of the heavily used Q46 bus line that runs along Union Turnpike,[7] had its token booth closed and removed.

A piece of artwork, Underground Skies-Cloud Forest, that was designed by artist Krystyna Spisak-Madejczyk was installed in this half of the station mezzanine.

[45] The intersection of Union Turnpike and Queens Boulevard was grade-separated in conjunction with the construction of the subway station.

The second level is an underpass that carries four lanes of Union Turnpike (and now also the Jackie Robinson Parkway) under the Boulevard.

[57][7] A staircase at the northwestern corner of Union Turnpike and Queens Boulevard led to the western walkway, but both have been sealed and converted to employee facilities.

[61] Automobiles and buses were formerly allowed to drop off and pick up passengers along those walkways (similar to stations on the IND Concourse Line), but car access is currently blocked.

The lower level of the station contains the subway tracks, which are located about 20 feet (6.1 m) below the underpass that carries Union Turnpike and the Jackie Robinson Parkway.

[47][67] The yard itself is situated just north of the station in the southern portion of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, between the Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wyck Expressway.

Following this incident, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) created a task force to investigate safety features that would reduce the number of draggings.

[74][75] A retired IRT redbird, R33 car 9075,[76] was displayed at the east end of Queens Borough Hall on 82nd Avenue during the 2000s and 2010s.

[81] Queens borough president Donovan Richards placed the subway car for auction in June 2022;[76][82] it was sold to a private citizen for $235,700.