The Queens Boulevard Line was one of the first built by the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND), and was planned to stretch between the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and 178th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.

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

[17] In April 1936, William Jerome Daly, the secretary of the New York City Board of Transportation, stated, in response to requests for a stop at 178th Street, that constructing a station at that location would prevent express service from operating past 71st Avenue.

He said that with a final station at 169th Street, express trains could run to Parsons Boulevard, and that if the line was extended to Springfield Boulevard as planned, express service could be extended past 178th Street with a yard east of the new terminal.

However, the plans were changed to terminate the express trains at Parsons Boulevard, requiring the installation of switches.

Since construction of the tunnel was already completed in this section, a few hundred feet of the wall separating the eastbound and westbound train tracks had to be removed to fit the two switches.

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

Therefore, the line was planned to be extended to 184th Place with a station at 179th Street containing two island platforms, sufficient entrances and exits, and storage for four ten-car trains.

[30] Delayed due to the Great Depression and World War II, the extension was completed later than expected and opened on December 11, 1950.

[33] On May 13, 1951, all F trains outside of rush hour were extended to 179th Street using the local tracks beyond Parsons Boulevard.

[40] In the 1980s, this station was part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s Neighborhood Adopt-A-Station Program.

According to a sign on the wall, the Parsons Boulevard station was adopted by students of Hillcrest High School.

[45][46] However, some E trains continued to run from 179th Street as expresses during the morning rush hour, stopping at Parsons Boulevard.

[47]: 9–10  Service at local stations, such as Sutphin Boulevard, was replaced by the R, which was extended to 179th Street from 71st Avenue.

Local elected officials pressured the MTA to eliminate all-local service at these stations.

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

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

[63] In December 2024, after congestion pricing was approved, the MTA announced that the elevator installations would proceed.

[66] The platform and mezzanine columns are I-beams painted maroon-red and the wall tiles along the tracks have a vermilion trim-line with a black border and name tiles underneath them consisting of "PARSONS" in white lettering on a black background.

[79] A free passageway, which allows people to walk through the mezzanine without having to pay a fare, connects the entrances at 153rd Street and Parsons Boulevard.