In 1898, Chipper ceased coachbuilding and wheelwrighting and moved the funeral home to the Hay Street end.
[9] In 2001 the Perth City Council identified the potential for the redevelopment of Wolf Lane into a secondary and distinctive retail area within the King Street precinct.
Works in Wolf Lane included those by Maya Hyuk (New York, US), Alexis Diaz (Puerto Rico, US), Hyuro (Argentina), Luke Cornish aka E.L.K.
Howard Lane was upgraded by the City of Perth in 2009, and features a series of artworks commissioned by Stormie Mills and Yok.
In May 2010, the Council received the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (WA Chapter) Award in Design for the Howard Lane Upgrade.
[13] The upgrading included new gutters, granite kerbs, lighting and a series of artworks along the length of the laneway,[14] commissioned from well-known Western Australian artists: Clare McFarlane; Denise Brown; Stephen Genovese; Jae Criddle; Paul Caporn and Leanne Bray and Stormie Mills.
The name of the lane relates to the former Grand Theatre, which used to occupy a prominent site on the south-western side of the laneway.
Mercantile Lane links St Georges Terrace and Mounts Bay Road, adjacent to the Brookfield Place development.