The Auburndale station was originally built as an infill station in 1901 – the year the community itself was developed.[3][4] The original station house was sold and converted into an Episcopal Church on 42nd Avenue and Utopia Parkway when a new, elevated station was built between 1929 and 1930, as part of a grade crossing elimination project; this church closed in 1973.[3][4]
By 1997, both Auburndale and the adjacent Murray Hill station had fallen into a state of disrepair.[5] The station subsequently underwent a significant reconstruction and modernization project between April 2000 and October 2003.[4][6][7][8] As part of the $5.5 million project, funded in part through monies secured by then-New York State Senator Frank Padavan, included rebuilding the platform and expanding it from six to ten cars in length, new canopies, a new, heated waiting room, and making the station accessible to wheelchair users with the installation of an ADA-accessible elevator.[6][7][8] The dilapidated, 1901-built station house was also demolished as part of the project.[6]
Further accessibility upgrades to the station were executed in the 2020s with the replacement of its elevator – a project which made the station fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.[9]
Station layout
This station has one 10-car long island platform between the two tracks.
