 In 1686, the city bought a site on the south side of the alley to accommodate the customs department, and by the end of that century the latter had the warehouse built which gave the alley its name.The alley was formerly known as "Urbansgränden" ("Urbanus grandhen" (1606), "The Alley of Urban") after Urban Michelsson who had an estate here in the late-16th century.Its present name first appears as "Packhus gr"["änd"] in 1733.