OMNIMAX Theatre at Science World

50sSNIPES on October 25, 2026 at 9:02 am

This all started on September 7, 1983, when two Vancouver architects proposed on an innovative science center just on time for Expo ‘86, including Arthur Erickson of his own architect company named after himself whose office refused to comment on the proposal. Literally nobody received a comment by the time the announcement made it to the Vancouver Sun, including British Columbia Place vice-president Paul Manning. The proposal includes an Omnimax theater measuring 350 feet high in order to afford an excellent viewing platform and a restaurant overlooking False Creek and the entire Expo area, including B.C. Place and over the stadium to the downtown silhouette, servicing by exterior glass elevators.

In March 1984, Telecom Canada released a photo of a sketch on a separate theater at the Expo, a 360-degree Circle-Vision cylinder-shaped building, and at the same time, Walt Disney Productions announced that they’ll be importing to make a film about Canada that will be presented just on time for Expo ‘86, marking one of their very last True-Life documentaries ever made by Disney. Though Circle 360 was already introduced at Expo ‘67 in Montreal, the technique there was also used for the O’ Canada presentation at the Canadian pavilion in Epcot. Disney staff replied that the film will likely be 17 minutes long and will be more than a travelogue. However, Expo officials considered building their own OMNIMAX that was first announced after the September 1983 proposal as part of its preview center at the east end of False Creek. According to Telecom Canada, they replied that the Circle-Vision will be at the opposite side of the Expo. The work on the OMNIMAX continued immediately following the announcement, with Cana Construction Limited being the main construction company.

On July 4, 1984, the Vancouver Sun announced that the Expo ‘86 Preview Center will open on May 2, 1985, including a small amount of information about the OMNIMAX, which the screen measures 35 feet high and 70 feet in diameter inside a globe that measures 40 meters. At the time, filmmakers were already in the middle of filming the wonders of the world. Alongside the OMNIMAX also contains a visitor interactive Future Choice and a Design 2000 Theatre, providing guests with a glimpse into the future. Cana not just constructed the OMNIMAX, but also the Expo Center, which was the first major construction contract to be let by Expo to Cana, including design fees ranged between $15 and $17 million. Expo had been letting contracts on site preparation since their first major contract in early February 1984 went to Fraser River Piledriving Limited for $785,000. Dillingham Construction Limited, Farmer Construction Limited, Brittain Steel Limited, and Marbell Pacific Enterprises Limited did help the pavilions.

In March 1985, first photos of the construction from inside the OMNIMAX were released by The Province, which in the article bills as a 500-seat OMNIMAX with an 88-foot screen in a 17-story dome building, which is a bigger upgrade than before. That same month, crews stocked up extra material, including a polyethylene sheet, just in case of any flooding or water staining the curved screen. Len Robinson of Cana replied that finding leaks is extremely different because of technique. Finally, the OMNIMAX opened its doors on the launch of the Expo, May 2, 1986, featuring the 20-minute film “A Freedom To Move”, showing the wonders of the world from above in all seven continents. Though this OMNIMAX lasted until its closure on October 13, 1986, Vancouver city council announced on January 27, 1987, that behind the Arts, Sciences, and Technology Center’s plan for a Science World in the domed Expo Center, they agreed to advance $40,000 from that year’s grant for design work and they hoped the proposed science center will not help kill the Vancouver planetarium which faces budget problems and aging equipment, which includes using the OMNIMAX as its site. They did, with an estimate nearly $10 million, which includes a 5,100-square-meter extension to the $20 million building, and will bring the total usable space up to 10,000.

A renovation was also taken place at the OMNIMAX, which downgraded the seats from the Expo ‘86 capacity of 500 seats to 400 seats, and an upgraded sound system, with 28 speakers and 12,000 watts of wrap-around sound. The OMNIMAX Theatre at Science World opened its doors on May 6, 1989 with “Beavers”, and was once named Alcan OMNIMAX Theatre from 1996 until 2007, before it was renamed back OMNIMAX Theatre at Science World.