The term ’Upton Park’ first applied to a housing estate developed to the east of West Ham Park in the 1880s. The estate took its name from the adjacent village of Upton with the suffix ’Park’ added for marketing reasons. The estate’s developers paid for a new station to be built which was named after the estate.

As a consequence the area surrounding the station became known as Upton Park rather than the term being limited to the original housing estate.

The southern end of Green Street runs alongside the western edge of the Boleyn Ground, the former home ground of West Ham United FC. The club initially rented the land from Green Street House, known locally as Boleyn Castle because of its imposing nature and an association with Anne Boleyn. The football stadium has long been commonly known as Upton Park.

West Ham United Football Club’s Upton Park was closed on the final game of the season against Manchester United 2015/16 - it has now been demolished.

An unrelated football club of the area, Upton Park FC, were early pioneers in the game, and represented Great Britain at the 1900 Summer Olympics football tournament, where they won the gold medal. They played their home games in East Ham Park.

Upton Park station was opened by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) in 1877. District line service began in 1902, and the Hammersmith & City (at that time the Metropolitan line) followed in 1936. LTSR services were withdrawn in 1962. The station has two working platforms, one for each direction. Two other platforms used to serve the LTSR but are now disused.

Upton Park was the first station on the LT&SR to be built by a property developer. Read was a developer who proposed the station and given approval designed and built a two platform station between the houses of Queen’s Road and Harold Road. The station fronted Queen’s Square on the corner of Green Street and Queen’s Road opened in September 1877. The building was demolished in 1903/04 when the line was quadrupled and the present station constructed.

Upton Park tube station appears in the English slang term, "He/She is Upton Park - two stops short of Barking", indicating that the individual in question is slightly mad.

Many shops in the Upton Park area cater for east London’s large Asian community. Queens Road Market is a covered food and clothing market on Queens Road, off Green Street near the tube station. It was formerly a large open-air street market until the current structure was built in the 1980s.

Upton Park also contains a green space, Priory Park, extending from the north east corner of the Boleyn Ground.