Picture: Netflix
First introduced in season one of Stranger Things and featured many more times afterward, Hawkins National Laboratory has been one of the most iconic locations in Netflix’s flagship series. News has now surfaced that demolition has begun on the building.
The building plays a central role throughout the story of Stranger Things, effectively serving as the epicenter of the story, given that it’s where Eleven was groomed into her powers and where the Upside Down began seeping into Hawkins. It was headed up by Dr. Martin Brenner for many years until the events of 1983, when Dr. Sam Owens took over. Much like in real life, the building was abandoned in the show by 1985.
The exterior of the building is the Georgia Mental Health Institute, which was in operation from 1965 to the late 1990s, when it was converted into a research facility. Although it has been mostly abandoned in recent years, it’s now used for film and television productions.
In 2022, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the land had been leased to a private developer with plans to demolish the main building. Since then, however, very limited work has been carried out on the site.
The latest news of demolition comes through the YouTube Channel TheRKHCollection (via our good friends at Stranger Things Spoilers), who provided some snaps of the current demolition work saying in his video (embedded below), “”They’re already tearing out like the asbestos and all that stuff… kind of just doing the early stages of the demolition process.”
Per Stranger Things Spoilers, “The site is expected to be completely cleared by late summer 2025, so if you haven’t had the chance to visit, now’s the time before it disappears for good.”
This isn’t the first location used for Stranger Things throughout its five-season run to be demolished following filming, which has now come to an end. As extensively cataloged by Stranger Things Spoilers, Hawkins High School was the first major landmark to be knocked down throughout the latter months of 2024. More recently, the radio station, which will play a significant role in the final season of the show, was demolished in February.
The good news is that the laboratory will live on in a new upcoming project. As recently confirmed at the Annecy Film Festival, the Hawkins Lab will be one of the many iconic locations from the main show to be featured in the animated series, headed up by Eric Rubles. That new series is called Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, and season 1 is due out in 2026.
Are you sad to see this iconic landmark demolished? Let us know in the comments down below.
