The entrepreneur Franz Haniel had influence with the Prussian government and the railway company and gained a rail connection to the Lipper heath, now central Oberhausen.

In the wake of the nationalisation of the Prussian railways in the early 1880s, lines were connected and central stations were established where possible.

Oberhausen architect Schwingel and supervisor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn railway division (Reichsbahndirektion) of Essen, Karl Herrmann, designed the current building in simple cubic forms.

The entrance hall building was only restored to operation in 1954 in a heavily modified form, with the Bali-Kino cinema above a false ceiling and a small shopping arcade.

The headquarters of the Landschaftsverband Rheinland (Rhineland Industrial Museum, LRV), opened in 1997, and the western district thus receive direct access from the station.