Downtown's newest park isn't so new anymore, but that doesn't mean the Augusta Common might not be new to you.

Officially opened in October, the 2 1/2 -acre park in the 800 block of Broad and Reynolds streets was under construction during last year's Masters Tournament.

This year, area residents looking for a sunny spot to sit or visitors seeking a pleasant place to read more about the city's history might want to check out the newest urban refuge, with its park benches, raised garden beds and historical markers. The park is set inside a city block where old buildings once stood.

The Common - a $2.5 Million project several years in the making - was designed to connect the Broad Street business district to the revitalized Riverwalk Augusta area.

As markers throughout the park describe, the Common was based on a town plan designed by the city's founder, Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe. A statue of Oglethorpe stands at the center of the Common.

The English general's original town plan for Augusta featured a 600-acre "Town Common" stretching from the riverfront to what is now the Laney-Walker district.

The existing park is much smaller than that laid out by the original designs.

While city workers were working on the Common, excavators uncovered countless items beneath the old city soil, including a long-forgotten bank tunnel, storm sewers and the remains of a horse. The tunnel was filled in for structural reasons but remains underneath the property.