19th century Roslyn station opened on January 23, 1865, by the
Glen Cove Branch Rail Road – a subsidiary of the Long Island Rail Road, upon the completion of the line between
Mineola and
Glen Head. The land for the railroad station was donated by
Samuel Adams Warner – a prominent architect and Roslyn resident for whom Warner Avenue is named. In 1882, the LIRR attempted to extend the former
Flushing and North Side Railroad main line from the
Great Neck station to the Roslyn station. This proposal dates back to an F&NS subsidiary, called the "Roslyn and Huntington Railroad". The proposal ultimately failed, and
that line was instead extended to
Port Washington in 1898. In the meantime, the Roslyn station was moved in 1885, in order to accommodate a new freight station; the station was rebuilt between June and July 1887.
20th century In 1905, a second track along the Oyster Bay Branch was constructed between
Albertson and Roslyn. From the 1900s until the system's closure in 1920, the
New York & North Shore Traction Company's Port Washington Line stopped at and served the station; the
n23 bus follows much this former trolley line's route. On the evening of July 15, 1927, an Oyster Bay-bound express train struck a vehicle which had stalled in the middle of the former Orchard Street grade crossing, in front of the station. The collision led to the vehicle being knocked into a telephone pole, and the two occupants of the vehicle were ejected from the impact. The driver, identified as Jacob Bolzicot, sustained critical injuries and was taken to
Nassau County Hospital in
Mineola. The other occupant, Catherine – Bolzicot's 4-year-old daughter, was uninjured. The victim, identified as
Greenvale resident Hugh O'Rourke, was on his way home at the time of the incident. O'Rourke was transported to
North Shore University Hospital in
Manhasset, where he was pronounced deceased from his injuries. The
Roslyn Landmark Society assisted in the restoration project, and donated many of the materials used. As part of the project, a number of derelict buildings – in addition to portions of the abandoned freight yard – were demolished and replaced with a 250-car parking lot for the station. The project also saw the station be moved to the south side of Lincoln Avenue; the historic station house was moved to this new location in 1988, where it continues to stand today. When the station was moved to its current location, the Village of Roslyn expressed interest in moving the station's historic platform shelter into Roslyn's downtown to ensure its preservation; the structure, by that time, was used as a taxi stand. The shelter, built in 1928, was moved in 1987 to the site of the Captain Jacob M. Kirby Storehouse on
Main Street, where it remains standing as a garden house.
21st century Between 2016 and 2017, the station's parking lot was re-striped and received additional parking spaces. In April 2025, the historic station building was temporarily closed for extensive renovations.
Transit-oriented development In 2021, the Village of Roslyn approved plans to construct a
mixed-use,
transit-oriented development on Warner Avenue, adjacent to the station, on the site of an older, single-story shopping strip. This transit-oriented development, known as Bryant Plaza, includes 54 rental apartments, in addition to of retail space below the apartments. It was developed by JK Equities in conjunction with Century Realty Investors, and the building was designed by Mojo Stumer Associates. ==Station layout==