WVXU Stories

Union Terminal Omnimax Opens Final Show Before Renovation Closure

91.7 WVXU | By Tana Weingartner

Published February 12, 2016 at 5:00 AM EST

If you enjoy watching films at the Cincinnati Museum Center's Omnimax theater, the film opening today is your last opportunity. The Museum's Dave Duszynski says National Parks Adventure is the last film to open before the theater closes down during renovations."Our best guess at the present time is that the Omnimax theater will be closed for up to two years, just because it's in a major renovation area within the building," he says.

Major construction inside the museum means visitors won't be able to get to the theater. Plus, the exterior wall behind the screen needs repairs.

With Kodak's decision to stop producing film for Omnimax and Imax theaters, Duszynski says the movies you see when the theater reopens may be a little different.

"As it turns out, we're also at a turning point for the industry," he says. "We are hoping that the digital projectors will advance fast enough so that we will be able to install a brand new digital projector at the point in time where we reopen."

While the building repairs are part of the $212 million taxpayer-funded renovation, Duszynski says a digital upgrade is not.

One of the stars of National Parks Adventureis in Cincinnati to celebrate this final film opening.

"Rachel Pohl is an avid climber, adventurer and artist. And if the weather holds out, we'll actually be having her rappel down the front of the building, which to our recollection has not been done in over 25 years."

"National Parks Adventure" star Rachel Pohl pauses beside the iconic clock while rappelling the face of Union Terminal.

That was at the opening of the museum's very first Omnimax show. The event is scheduled for 11 o'clock Friday morning.

The theater is slated to close July 5, 2016.

Omnimax Theater Fun Facts From The Cincinnati Museum Center

8.4 million visitors have enjoyed 71 OMNIMAX® films in our five-story domed Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater.
That’s over 2,800 minutes of breathtaking experiences around the globe, beneath the sea and beyond our galaxy.
Cincinnati Museum Center is a founding member of the Giant Dome Theater Consortium, a group of seven museums that helps fund and advise film production, including the films Tornado Alley(2011), Journey to Space(2015) and National Parks Adventure(2016).

A little cold and snow weren't enough to keep this adventurer from jumping off.

The Museum Center says the last time someone rappelled down the building was for the Omnimax's very first show 25 years ago.

Rachel Pohl paused to take pictures with onlookers after scaling the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Dave Duszinki stands behind the Omnimax screen showing off a film reel. The exterior portion of the wall to his right (viewer's left) will be repaired during the Union Terminal renovation.