The Mount Vernon West station was originally built in the early 1840s by the New York and Harlem Railroad along the median of what is today MacQuestor Parkway just south of Mount Vernon Avenue.

The line was electrified and realigned in southern Mount Vernon by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad and commissioned the architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore to build a new station along the realigned segment in 1914,[4] although the bridge over Mount Vernon Avenue was built in 1910.

[2] The station has two slightly offset high-level island platforms, each 12 cars long.

[5]: 10  Its ticket office and waiting area are at the bottom level of the Bank of New York building on Mount Vernon Avenue.

[6] The station house which is addressed at 156 South West Street and still bears the name New York Central Railroad on its façade,[7] is used primarily for retail, and tickets can be purchased from beneath the platforms.