The station was originally built in 1882 as a Long Island Rail Road station on the Rockaway Beach Branch, was called Rockaway Beach, and contained a trolley stop for the Ocean Electric Railway, which eventually expanded their line further west to Belle Harbor and Neponsit.

In 1899, the station was enlarged in order to accommodate the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company cars, and the name was changed to Rockaway Park.

[3][4] The New York City Board of Transportation purchased all stations on the branch in June 1952, and the New York City Transit Authority (successor to the Board of Transportation) closed them to LIRR service on October 3, 1955 in order to convert many of them into subway stations.

[11][12][13] In 2002, it was announced that Rockaway Park would be one of ten subway stations citywide to receive renovations.

Originally, terminal tracks with low-level platforms occupied the yard area during the LIRR years.