The station was built in 1908 as part of the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, which expanded its
Harlem River Branch line into an electrified main line into New York. The railroad planned twelve new stations along the route to serve local commuters, and commissioned the architect Cass Gilbert to design them. Gilbert, who was already renowned for having designed the
U.S. Custom House in
Lower Manhattan, produced plans for each of these in a number of different styles, though not all were actually built. For the station at Westchester Avenue, Gilbert chose a richly ornamented exterior with glazed terra cotta details and signage with gold colored metallic lettering. Gilbert would later incorporate glazed terra cotta details into his design for the
Woolworth Building, which was completed in 1913. The line became very active with intercity train service, and remains presently as part of the Northeast Corridor between
Boston, Massachusetts and
Washington, D.C. The line failed to attract local commuter traffic, however, particularly once the
New York City Subway with its five-cent fare was extended to much of the area beginning in 1920, and the local stations along the route became uneconomical to maintain. New Haven trains stopped serving Westchester Avenue and other local stations in 1931, and all the stations were finally abandoned when the New York, Westchester and Boston ceased operations in 1937. During the
Prohibition era the ground-floor commercial space beneath the waiting room was home to a well-known
speakeasy nicknamed "The Platform", which made no serious effort at concealment. Patrons would simply walk up the wide terra-cotta staircase as if buying a ticket and ask for a "11:47" before continuing into the former baggage room. It was openly discussed by law enforcement officers who made no move to shut it down, partially due to it sitting on a jurisdictional gray zone. ==Planned restoration==