Dublin Celebrates Birthday with New Bicentennial Plaza

DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Emerald City of Dublin is celebrating its 200th birthday with a new Bicentennial Plaza.

Dublin celebrated its birthday with shovels instead of candles. To commemorate its history and future, the Main Street Dublin-Downtown Development Authority held a ground breaking ceremony for the new Bicentennial Plaza Thursday morning.

“There’s been a tremendous amount of work done over the last 10 years in our downtown and this is just another crown jewel in the whole process,” Dublin Mayor Phil Best said.

The street in front of the historic Theatre Dublin is now closed. In just a few months, the area will turn into a pedestrian plaza.

“The green space in front of the Carnegie library will be doubled in size, there will be additional trees planted, there will be benches placed all around the area,” executive director of the Main Street Dublin-Downtown Development Authority Joshua Kight said.

There will also be a pocket park where everyone, including residents and people just passing through, can enjoy the new space.

“The idea is if you make the place more beautiful and you add amenities to it, then more people want to come here and that’s both people who live here, people who work here and people from out town,” Kight said.

And more people stopping by means more foot traffic for downtown businesses.

“They can stop get out, enjoy themselves, go to some of these fine restaurants we have downtown, visit with each other and just have a good time,” Best said.

It’s a greener future for the Emerald City.

Construction is set to begin sometime next week. Mayor Phil Best hopes it will be finished in time for next year’s Saint Patrick’s day celebrations.