The Georgia Mental Health Institute (GMHI) was a psychiatric hospital which operated from 1965â€"1997 near Emory University in Druid Hills near Atlanta Georgia. It was located on the grounds of the Briarcliff Estate, the former residence of Asa G. Candler, Jr., the son of the founder of Coca-Cola.
Emory and the state of Georgia jointly developed the GMHI. Emory doctors provided some of the mental health services at GMHI, and some residents and fellows received part of their training in psychiatry there. Emory also had its own pediatric psychiatric outpatient programs based at the facility. The university also had 10 faculty scientists conducting 18 research studies at GMHI, focused on mental health, brain and central nervous system diseases. At its closing it had 141 beds and a $24.5 million budget.
After the institute closed, the 42 acre campus was purchased by Emory University from the state Georgia for US$2.9 million. The university planned to turn the property into a biotechnology research and business development centre. Unofficially the campus was referred to as "Emory West", and the university considered either renovating the existing 17 buildings or constructing new ones. Plans for the second campus were scaled back after faculty expressed a desire to remain at the main campus, but the university still planned to build the EmTech Bio Sciences Center as of 2000. In 2011, three of the old GMHI buildings, at the rear of the property, were demolished.
Some of the scenes for Netflix's highly acclaimed Stranger Things (TV series) were filmed here (as the fictional Hawkins National Laboratory site), in late 2015 and early 2016.
In 2016, Emory received approval for plans to renovate the mansion and convert it to a hotel and event center.
References
External links
- Ben Miller, "Faded Treatment: The Georgia Mental Health Institute 10 Years After Closing", Reading On, Emory University
- "Emory considering possibilities if state closes mental health institute", Emory Report, Emory University, November 10, 1997
- "Neighborhood character: Becoming Briarcliff Campus", Emory Magazine, Emory University, Autumn 2011
- Photoset of underground tunnels
