It takes less than an hour to drive from New York City.
Your outie loves to go on adventures. It always avoids the middle seat. It tends to judge people who take off their shoes on planes. Additionally, your outie wants you to know that the real-life Lumon building is closer than you think if you are in or around New York City.
If you’re reading this article, you probably already know what an “outie” is. However, if you haven’t watched Severance, arguably the best television show to come around in decades, let us introduce you to the concept. In the show, the characters have “severed” their brains to become two different versions of themselves:There are two distinct sides: one for the outside world (outies) and one for the workplace (innies).
The sinister and mysterious company Lumon conducts experiments on individuals within a labyrinthine building, which embodies the nightmarish overhead neon lighting we often dread. If you’re a true fan of the show, you can visit this building yourself by traveling to New Jersey.
You can visit the Bell Works building in Holmdel, New Jersey, which was once the home of Bell Labs, the research division of AT&T.
Today, the building known as Bell Works houses various businesses. Originally designed by architect Eero Saarinen, it opened in 1962 as a large mid-century office space. Researchers conducted work on a wide range of technologies, from microwaves to cell phones, there until it was abandoned in 2007. In 2013, developer Ralph Zucker revitalized the site. Now, the lobby and outdoor areas are frequently used as a stand-in for the fictional Lumon Industries.
According to Zucker’s comments to Curbed, Severance isn’t the first movie or TV show filmed in this location. The building has also appeared in American Horror Story and Emergence. While those shows attracted a significant number of fans, the turnout for Severance viewers has been even greater.
“I have heard that we have a lot more people coming in and taking pictures of themselves in the space,” Zucker told Curbed. “We have a whole team that works on social media, and they’re inundated.”
However, there is one critical point to make: there is no official tour of the building. People do work here, so all visitors need to remain as respectful as possible while on the grounds. You also cannot visit the upper levels (sorry, Mr. Milchick likes his privacy), so it’s best to just take that selfie outside or in the lobby.
“We always understood that people would realize that this was not, you know, real life,” Zucker added. “Although Severance portrays the headquarters as this empty devoid-of-life space, in reality, we’re teeming with life.”
See all the details about the building at curbed.com.
