The Historic Mary Hall Studio
Tucked into the hilltop campus of 10th Avenue, the City of Nelson offers a remarkable, ready‑to‑shoot film studio that feels worlds away yet sits minutes from downtown. This is Mary Hall — a 7,033‑square‑foot, column‑free soundstage measuring approximately 127 feet in length by 55.5 feet in width, with 25‑foot ceilings, purpose‑repurposed for film, television, and commercial productions right in the heart of the Kootenays.
A Building Designed for Volume & Light
Mary Hall opened in 1968 as the original library of Notre Dame University College, the private Catholic institution that gave this campus its bones. For 16 years it housed towering bookshelves and quiet study carrels — which explains the rare, uninterrupted floor plate and the banks of clerestory windows that wash the interior in soft, controllable daylight. When the university closed in 1984, the building’s extraordinary clearspan volume, 25‑foot vertical clearance, and solid concrete construction quietly waited for a creative second act. Today that act is film, and the space delivers everything a visiting production needs: silent acoustics, a vast open canvas, and enough height for ambitious lighting rigs.
A Full Production Campus
The free‑standing main hall facility operates as a complete production hub. Located adjacent to the main stage are dedicated production offices, and downstairs from the main hall is a fully equipped kitchen, lunchroom, spacious extras holding, and secure equipment lock‑up. The exterior layout is equally generous — ample parking accommodates circus, work trucks, catering vehicles, and crew vehicles.
This turn‑key, shared facility is ideal for independent features, MOWs, series work, and commercial shoots based in Nelson and the surrounding Kootenay region. Everything is in place so your team can walk in, set up, and start rolling.
Contact us for booking information and availability — we’d love to host your next production!