The name recalls the Hallesches Tor, a city gate on the road to Halle.
The gate (Tor) in Berlin’s customs and excise wall was built around 1730, when Friedrichstadt was extended under King Friedrich Wilhelm I; the road through it led to Halle an der Saale. Until the edict of 1812 it was the only gate in the south of Berlin that Jews were allowed to pass. It stood until 1876.