The station was built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the Dual Contracts with New York City, and opened on July 1, 1918.

[7] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Lower West Side, and to neighborhoods such as Chelsea and Greenwich Village.

[8][9] Rector Street opened as part of an extension of the line from 34th Street–Penn Station to South Ferry on July 1, 1918.

[10][11] Initially, the station was served by a shuttle running from Times Square to South Ferry.

[10][12] The new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square.

[13] An immediate result of the switch was the need to transfer using the 42nd Street Shuttle in order to retrace the original layout.

[16] After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the subway tunnels around Cortlandt Street collapsed, and the line was closed temporarily.

On the northern end of the uptown platform, a single staircase leads to the tiny, full-time mezzanine.