ATLANTA — As Emory University is breathing new life into its Briarcliff property, it's bulldozing what has become one of its most famous buildings and a piece of "The Upside Down."
Due to a long-term ground lease with Galerie Living, a housing company dedicated to equal housing for seniors, the former Georgia Mental Health Institute will be demolished.
The mental hospital, which functioned as a psychiatric facility from 1965 through 1997, was repurposed to be part of Netflix's "Stranger Things." In the series, it functioned as Hawkins National Laboratory where experiments were conducted on children with supernatural abilities, shaping the origin story of one of the show's main characters, Eleven. Under the lab was a gate to an alternate dimension known in the show as "The Upside Down."
Emory, in collaboration with Galerie Living, is clearing the area to help develop 32 of the 42-acre Briarcliff property into a senior living community.
Galerie Living also agreed to restore the historic Candler Mansion, which belonged to the heir of Coca-Cola Asa "Buddie" G. Candler, Jr.
Briarcliff boasts more than just fascinating Georgia history, it also served as the backdrop of several film and television productions like "Stranger Things," CBS's "MacGyver" and the CW's "Vampire Diaries."
Built in the 1920s, Briarcliff was considered one of the finest estates in the region, according to the university. Candler and his wife continued to add to the property which eventually grew to include 40 rooms, greenhouses, two solariums and even a zoo. The property is on the National Registry of Historic Properties.
Emory purchased the property in 1988. More than a century after its construction, the university is writing a new future for the historic estate.
View renderings of the senior living facility in the gallery below.
Emory's Briarcliff property | Senior living facility renderings
