The abandoned Atlanta building that appeared as Hawkins National Lab in Stranger Things has been torn down. Emory University's Briarcliff Building, a hulking former mental health facility that appeared in many scenes of Stranger Things, no longer stands on the school's Briarcliff campus.
The demolition was confirmed in a report from Atlanta News First, which noted that the structure known nationwide as the Hawkins National Lab was actually called the Briarcliff Building. Built in the 1960s as a mental health treatment facility, the building sat on Briarcliff Road and became part of Emory's holdings when the university bought the 42-acre Briarcliff campus in 1998, according to the station's report.
Emory vacated the building in 2024, the outlet reported, leaving it empty even as its pop-culture fame lingered. For years, the building's eerie institutional halls made it a favorite backdrop for film crews, and the article notes Emory had even listed it among properties the university rented out to filmmakers.
A Deadly Fall Changed Everything
In December 2025, 19-year-old Leah Palmirotto died after falling from the Briarcliff Building's roof while exploring the structure, per the same account from Atlanta News First. Emory removed the building from its list of properties available to filmmakers shortly after Palmirotto's death, the station reported.
In the wake of the fatal fall, Emory said it would be enhancing security at the site, according to CBS Atlanta. A separate report from The Independent said demolition reportedly began in June, though explorers were still getting inside the building as of October.
What Comes Next for the Site
Emory's own master-planning materials describe the condition of the Briarcliff Buildings A and B as creating significant opportunity to redevelop the site, while preserving the Library Service Center and restoring the historic Briarcliff Mansion, according to the university's Emory Master Planning page. Among the uses Emory lists for the site is senior living.
That direction traces back to a 2022 announcement in which Emory said it planned a long-term ground lease with Galerie Living to develop and operate a senior living community on about 32 acres of the property, according to Emory News. That same release said Galerie would restore the historic Candler Mansion as part of the agreement.
More recently, DeKalb County commissioners approved Galerie Living's redevelopment of part of the Briarcliff campus, described as a planned 500-unit seniors housing community to be known as Corso Druid Hills, according to REBusinessOnline. For Stranger Things fans who once sought out the building as a pilgrimage site, the demolition closes the chapter on one of the show's most recognizable real-world locations.
