The station officially opened on December 13, 1920, as East 241st Street, when the final portion of the line was opened. The line had been extended one stop north from East 238th Street. This portion of the line had its opening delayed, owing to construction on the line between the two stations for the construction of the 239th Street Yard. Additional time was required to modify the structure to avoid a grade crossing at the entrance to the yard. The station was renovated from July to December 2005 at a cost of $17.25 million. The station, as part of the renovation, got a new high-quality public address system, new platform edge and ADA tactile warning strips, major structural repairs, new canopies over the stairs and platforms, repaired walls, renewed floors, and a redesign of the area around the station booth. 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
At this station, there are two tracks, one center island platform and two disused side platforms here. The two tracks end at bumper blocks at the north end of the platforms. The station was formerly set up as a Spanish solution with alighting passengers using the side platforms and boarding passengers using the island platform. Now all passengers use the island platform. The middle of the platform features a backlit track departure sign labeled Tracks 3 and 2, indicating which train leaves first. There are also crew quarters at platform level. To the south of the station, the tracks make a connection to the 239th Street Yard before splitting into three tracks. The 2006 artwork featured at the station is Permanent Residents and Visitors by Alfredo Ceibal, which focuses on birds living in and visiting the city. The artwork is made of faceted glass in the platform windscreens.
Exits
The exit is at the north end. Fare control is past the bumper blocks, from where there is one stair to the southwest corner of 241st Street and White Plains Road, and two stairs to the southeast corner.
Names
This terminal station has gone by a number of different names. Becker Avenue was an earlier name for the station at the time of its construction, and it officially opened as East 241st Street on December 13, 1920. By 1984, it was renamed 241st Street on entrances and platform signs. The station was initially signed on the New York City Subway map as 241st Street–Wakefield. It has been signed on the map under its current name since 1998.
