Behind the hedge you can see on the left is the Giant Eyeball in the previous photo.
This street runs alongside that venue. It has some historic buildings and restaurants.
The Doorman at the Joule Hotel claims that the owner wanted to put a parking garage on the site where the Eyeball is, but was denied by the city as it would be an "eyesore."
I don't know if that is true, but you can see that it's nice to have the green space next to this historic area.