Toronto landmark with uncertain future could find a second act on screen

After more than a century of hosting political and legal drama, Toronto's Old City Hall could soon become the go-to setting for the scripted kind.

Don't cue the clapperboard just yet, but City officials are exploring ways to make the historic landmark easier for film and television productions to use as Toronto looks to expand opportunities for its growing screen industry.

The Victorian-era building and its courthouse have sat relatively empty since the Ontario government moved out in early 2025. 

A proposal titled Improving the Usability of Old City Hall as a Filming Location was considered by the Economic and Community Development Committee earlier this month (call it a chemistry test, if you will) and is currently before City Council. 

While the committee didn't take a position on the proposal, it did ask City staff to draft rule changes that would make filming at the sandstone building easier to approve and manage.

FilmOntario threw its support behind the proposal, arguing that while Old City Hall is a unique filming location, its high fees, unexpected costs (including room-by-room charges) and limited access for location scouts are making it challenging to produce content. The industry group said streamlining the process would help Toronto, often dubbed Hollywood North, stay competitive as a filming destination. 

Aside from the locally-made procedural Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, plenty of films and TV shows are shot in the city: The Boys, The Testaments and Sarah Polley's Bell Jar adaptation starring Billie Eilish, to name a few. 

The building's abundance of carvings depicting both animals and humans, plus one of the only secular stained-glass windows in the city, are among some of Old City Hall's most unique — and sought-after — features.

Photo: City of Toronto

The building has largely remained off-limits to the public since it was built, but it's occasionally open for public events if you're curious about what it looks like inside. Otherwise, you'll just have to go off of scenes in acclaimed films like Chicago and The Long Kiss Goodnight. 

With its striking Romanesque-style architecture and enough historic charm to give any plain ol' soundstage a run for its money, Old City Hall could hopefully score a supporting role in more series and feature films to come — but not until Council yells "action" on the proposed changes, that is.