Netflix used a real mall built in '80s as a location for the show

If you watched Stranger things 3 you will find a mall with 80's look and feel of American culture. The Starcourt mall you find in the stranger things season 3 is real and it is in the process of dismantling. Mall set is constructed inside Gwinnett palace mall which is constructed a year before the season2 of stranger things.

Netflix constructed around 40 stores in the mall for the show, which included period-appropriate versions of existing stores like Burger King and Hot Dog on a Stick (complete with their genuine ‘80s uniforms), as well as original creations like Scoops Ahoy, which apparently featured a boat-shaped restaurant booth that you can only partially see in the show.

Listen to Netflix behind the scene podcast of Stranger Things Season 3

Typically, film sets aren’t a full structure or room; it’s cheaper to build the bare minimum needed for a shot. That Netflix opted to build out entire stores suggests that the filmmakers wanted a bit of flexibility with how they shot the show, allowing them to shoot from any angle without worrying about an unfinished background.

Some daring fans went around barricades before and after filming to get close-ups of some of those interiors, including Radio Shack, The Gap, JC Penney, and many more. https://t.co/blRf48mq6e pic.twitter.com/OkokZgbKEf

— Andy Baio (@waxpancake) July 11, 2019 

Local Atlanta newspaper AJC reports that the set is currently in the process of being dismantled after Netflix reportedly decided against leaving it in place as a permanent tourist attraction. Unfortunately, it sounds like the mall could really use the customization. Most of the mall’s units are apparently now empty, with only a handful of shops remaining.

 With the retro mall now probably disappearing forever, we can at least take a video tour that one fan was able to film and posted to YouTube last year, complete with period storefronts and products in the windows.