The Georgia Mental Health Institute (GMHI) was opened in 1965 on Asa Candler Jr.’s Briarcliff estate grounds. The Brutalist building was a psychiatric hospital built as a joint project between Emory University and the state of Georgia. Emory doctors provided some of the patient care, and Emory medical students received some of their training at the hospital.

The Institute was dedicated on November 18, 1965. Outside the main administration building, the campus had several cottages where patients stayed. These cottages all had tunnels leading to the main building.

GMHI closed in 1997. Emory University purchased the campus in hopes of turning it into another campus, but the idea was never implemented. While the building was in disuse, the Atlanta film industry took off, and the space began being utilized for filming. Most notably, the building was used as the Hawkins National Laboratory in the Netflix TV show Stranger Things. In 2022, Emory University leased the campus to be used as a senior living community. It is expected that many of the buildings will be demolished.