Formerly known as Syed Allie Road, the road was named after Syed Allie bin Mohammed Al Junied (1814-1858), the son of Syed Mohammed Bin Harun Al Junied, and nephew of the famous Yemeni Arab leader Syed Omar bin Ali Al Junied.
Syed Allie carried on his father's business and also contributed generously to the community. This road dissecting Jalan Besar was named after Syed Allie because in the 19th century, he bought 70 acres of swampland in Kampong Kapor. It soon became known as Syed Allie's land and the road was named after him.
The Chinese residents refer to the road as sai ek a liu koi thai tu long pi in the Chinese Hokkien dialect which means "Syed Alwi Street beside the abattoirs". According to long-time residents in the area, one abattoir was located at Blk 811, next to the present day Jalan Besar Community Club, and the other near the current Jalan Bersih Hawker Centre. One resident even recalled seeing sheep, cows and pigs on the streets leading to the abattoirs.
Look out for a "hole-in-the-wall" tailor and alteration shop run by Mr. Thangavelan who has been there since 1953. He has seen the place change from when the abattoirs were still operating in the area, with sheep, cows and pigs being herded along the street to today's traffic congestion. His shop has enabled him to support his wife and two children to adulthood, but due to today's ready-made clothing, very few people patronize his shop nowadays.
Across the road is Wing Heng Furniture, owned by Mr. Yu. He was born in 1940 and grew up in the very same shop that he is working in now. Business today has slowed down tremendously as most people prefer to buy their furniture, rather than have it custom-made which has to be painstakingly built by hand. He now relies on infrequent jobs of supplying cut-to-size planks or custom-built small pieces of furniture for businesses or individuals.
Today, some of the shophouses along Syed Alwi Road have been designated as a conservation area by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, in consultation with the local stakeholders and the support of the Land Transport Authority.