This station opened at 3:00 a.m. on March 16, 1919, as part of the opening of the first section of the BMT Culver Line. The initial section began at the Ninth Avenue station and ended at the Kings Highway station. The line was operated as a branch of the Fifth Avenue Elevated line, with a free transfer at Ninth Avenue to the West End Line into the Fourth Avenue Subway. The opening of the line resulted in reduced travel times between Manhattan and Kings Highway. Construction on the line began in 1915, and cost a total of $3.3 million. Trains from this station began using the Fourth Avenue Subway to the Nassau Street Loop in Lower Manhattan when that line opened on May 30, 1931. The Fifth Avenue Elevated was closed on May 31, 1940, and elevated service ceased stopping here. On October 30, 1954, the connection between the IND Brooklyn Line at Church Avenue and the BMT Culver Line at Ditmas Avenue opened. With the connection completed, all service at the stations on the former BMT Culver Line, including this one, were from then on served by IND trains. From June 1968 to 1987, express service on the elevated portion of the line from Church Avenue to Kings Highway operated in the peak direction, with some F trains running local and some running express. During this time period, this station was used as a local station. Express service ended in 1987, largely due to budget constraints and complaints from passengers at local stations. Express service on the elevated Culver Line was ended due to necessary structural work, but never restored. From June 7, 2016, to May 1, 2017, the southbound platform at this station was closed for renovations. The Manhattan-bound platform was closed for a longer period of time, from May 22, 2017 until July 30, 2018. In 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.
Station layout
This station has two side platforms and three tracks with the middle track normally unused. The two platforms have beige windscreens and green canopies that run for nearly the entire length. The north end contains black waist-level fences only.
Exits
This station has two entrances with the full-time one at the north end. From each platform, one staircase leads down to an elevated stationhouse beneath the tracks, where a bank of turnstiles and token booth is present. Outside fare control are two street stairs to the two northern corners Avenue I and McDonald Avenue. At the south end of the station are unstaffed exits leading to Avenue J. From each platform, a single staircase goes down to a short landing outside of a sealed mezzanine where a full-height turnstile and emergency gate provide exit from the system. Another staircase then goes down to the street. The Coney Island-bound side is exit-only while the Manhattan-bound side is HEET turnstile access. The mezzanine, now used as a station facility, once had a booth.
