“Stranger Things,” the hit Netflix science fiction-horror series, promises a second season in 2017.
Devoted fans may find the wait more difficult to handle than the unceremonious departure of character Barb in Season 1, but, according to reports, Season 2 shoots in Atlanta through April.
In the meantime, local fanatics can get their fix by visiting locations used in Season 1. Grab your selfie sticks and 1980s mix tapes, and take a look around the metro area at some of the spots made famous in “Stranger Things.”
Emory University’s Continuing Education Department
Located on Emory’s Briarcliff Campus, the building doubles as the exterior for Hawkins Laboratory, where some of the strangest things occur in the series. It’s the site where the young girl Eleven, played by actress Millie Bobby Brown in a buzz cut, serves as a lab rat due to her miraculous abilities. The building’s 1970s-style aesthetic goes well with the show’s early 1980s setting. Its cold, clinical look could be due to the fact it is the former home of the Georgia Mental Health Institute psychiatric hospital. Grab a box of Eggo waffles and pose out front for a geeky selfie.
Where you can find it: 1256 Briarcliff Road N.E., Atlanta
The former Douglasville City Hall
The Hawkins police station where Sheriff Jim Hopper (played by David Harbour) spends his mornings indulging in coffee and contemplation, set up shop inside the old Douglasville City Hall. Both interior and exterior shots were filmed here. This means it’s where Joyce (Winona Ryder) comes begging Hopper to find her missing son, Will (Noah Schnapp). Other film projects shot in Douglasville and Douglas County through the years include “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1,” “Kill the Messenger” and the soon-to-be-released “The Founder,” starring Michael Keaton as McDonald’s honcho Ray Kroc.
Where you can find it: 8485 Courthouse Square, Douglasville
Downtown Jackson
The somewhat sleepy burg sees a second life as downtown Hawkins in the series. Who needs a DeLorean to go back in time? Jackson allowed the “Stranger Things” crew to paint its buildings and transform the town into Hawkins circa 1983. It’s home to the general store where Joyce buys copious Christmas lights and the faux theater where Nancy (Natalia Dyer) gets her name smeared on the marquee. Already planning your “Stranger Things” costume for next Halloween? Consider visiting Jackson on the evening of Oct. 31 for Halloween on Second Street, an organized trick-or-treat allowing young ones a safe place to haunt, gather candy and display their spooky duds.
Where you can find it: cityofjacksonga.com
Bellwood Quarry
This picturesque setting, purchased by the city of Atlanta in 2006, has become quite the local celebrity locale. Zombies overran the quarry on “The Walking Dead,” and you can spot it in the first installment of “The Hunger Games.” It gets serious screen time in “Stranger Things.” Authorities find the faux Will Byers floating in its waters. Later in the series, those bullies from Hawkins Middle School attempt to make Mike take a dive into the quarry before Eleven swoops in for the save. The quarry itself had been mined for a century. In 2021, it opened to the public as Atlanta’s biggest city park.
Where you can find it: Bellwood Quarry is located in Atlanta Westside Park.
The former Patrick Henry Academy
After Patrick Henry Academy in Stockbridge shut its doors, it became a choice location for both interior and exterior shots of the middle and high schools featured in the series. It’s where the memorial service for the fake Will takes place, the group creates Eleven’s makeshift sleep deprivation chamber, and the antagonists rumble with the creature at the end of the series.
Where you can find it: 109 S. Lee St., Stockbridge
