Demolition has started on the former Georgia Mental Health Institute building on Emory University’s Briarcliff campus.
What’s Happening: The building was used to film Hawkins National Laboratory in Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” Workers are now tearing it down as part of a redevelopment project.
A private developer named Galerie Living leased the property from Emory University in 2022 for 99 years. The company plans to build a senior living community there. All the old hospital buildings on the campus will be torn down.
What’s Important: The Georgia Mental Health Institute was a psychiatric hospital that ran from 1965 to 1997. The hospital sat on the grounds of the Briarcliff Estate, which used to belong to Asa G. Candler Jr. After the hospital closed, Emory University bought the 42-acre campus from the state of Georgia for $2.9 million.
The building also appeared in the 2017 film “Rings,” Alex Garland’s “Civil War,” DC’s “Doom Patrol,” and “The Vampire Diaries.”
What Happens Next: Demolition will continue as the developer moves forward with the senior living community project.
