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This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. If an article link referred you here, you might want to go back and fix it to point directly to the intended page. Also, if you wanted to search for the term "Filming locations", click here.
All of the Battlestar Galactica series, from the Original Series through Galactica 1980 to the Miniseries and beyond, have made use of location shooting to provide some of the background and scope for the storyline.
The classic Galactica bridge set and others were built at Universal Studios, and the Universal backlot was also used throughout the shooting of the series. The programs filmed from 1978 through 1980 conducted location shoots around Southern California, for the most part not far from Universal Studios in Studio City, California.
The sequence from "Saga of a Star World," set on the surface of Caprica, where Serina is caught up in the Cylon bombing was filmed in Long Beach, California at the City Hall and Library complex. Matte paintings were added to provide the city scape [1], while plywood was laid in walkways to emulate a checkered pattern.
For "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part II," some shots of the pyramids at Kobol were actually filmed at the site of the Great Temple at Karnak and the Pyramids of Giza, in Egypt [2]. A small crew was sent to film the sequence and doubles were used to pose as Adama, Serina, Apollo and Boomer.
Outside shots of the Gamoray base, shown in "The Living Legend, Part II," were filmed at night at the campus of the University of California at Northridge in Northridge, California, USA [3].
The destroyed city on Paradeen seen in "Greetings From Earth" was filmed in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. The prefabricated buildings left over from Expo '67 fell apart in the harsh Canadian winters. The remains of the site were this sequence was filmed in 1979 made believable futuristic ruins.
All of the Battlestar Galactica series, from the Original Series through Galactica 1980 to the Miniseries and beyond, have made use of location shooting to provide some of the background and scope for their storylines.
The programs filmed from 1978 through 1980 CE conducted location shoots around Southern California, for the most part not far from Universal Studios in Studio City, California.
The classic Galactica bridge set and others were built at Universal Studios, but many of those sets had been struck by December 1979 when Galactica 1980 began filming. As a result, stock footage was used even more than in the original program, especially when the bridge was shown. To compensate for this, the Universal backlot was also used throughout the shooting of the series, notably in "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II," for the sequences that took place in Germany. The programs filmed from 1978 through 1980 conducted location shoots around Southern California, for the most part not far from Universal Studios in Studio City, California. Galactica 1980 made even more use of this, since it was set in a contemporary setting.
The store that Troy happens upon in Paradise Valley, when in search of supplies for the Super Scouts during Dillon's "bank robbery," was a JCPenney located on 18341 Sherman Way, Reseda, California, U.S.A.
This is visible in two distinct shots (a long shot and a close-up shot) when Troy first enters near the revolving door (1980: "The Super Scouts, Part I").
This particular JCPenney closed down in 1985, having been on the site since 1953, and was rebuilt as a two-floor retail and office complex.[1] As of 2024, the site is known as the Majestic Plaza.[2]
The scenes of the planet Starbuck names after himself in "The Return of Starbuck" were filmed entirely on location at Red Rock Canyon State Park near Cantil, California, U.S.A.[3]
Much of the episode "Space Croppers" was filmed at the Disney movie ranch in rural Los Angeles county, a favorite location for Galactica 1980. The recognizable covered bridge that is in the center of the ranch property is on prominent display in one scene.
All of the Battlestar Galactica series, from the original through Galactica 1980 to the Miniseries and beyond, have made use of location shooting to provide some of the background and scope for the storyline.
The Re-imagined Series is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and most of the location shoots have been done within the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. The primary reference for RDM filming locations is the fan site battlestarlocations.com, built with participation from production personnel; Pat Suwalski's Season 1 guide at pat.suwalski.net is an additional primary source for early season locations.
The Miniseries was shot at a larger studio facility than the regular series, in which all interconnected sets were built: Adama's quarters, an airlock, CIC, several multipurpose rooms, many hallways, Colonial One and the hangar deck. This made it possible to follow a character continuously from the hallways to the hangar deck in a single shot. When production moved to the regular series, a smaller studio required the sets to be split apart.
The cargo bay/storage area scenes aboard Colonial One were shot on the car deck of one of the BC Ferries vessels running between Vancouver and Victoria.[production 1]
The interior of the sublight Botanical Cruiser was filmed at the Bloedel Conservatory atop Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver (4600 Cambie Street; east park entrance at 33rd Avenue and Ontario Street). The only set piece added was the bench on which the young girl sits; the dome roof was modified in post-production to show a window into space. A conservatory receptionist confirmed the location to location scout Pat Suwalski.[production 4][production 5] The conservatory opened December 6, 1969 as Vancouver's Canadian Centennial project; it is a triodetic dome of 1,490 plexiglass bubbles set into a 2,324-piece aluminum framework, standing 70 feet at its apex. It holds City of Vancouver Class-A Heritage Building status and is listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.[production 6]
Ragnar Anchorage was filmed across two separate private locations. The exterior of the station was filmed at Vancouver Wharves in North Vancouver. The interior — including the dark corridor scenes and the large ordnance room where Aaron Doral is abandoned — was filmed at the Lantic Sugar mill on the Vancouver waterfront, using an abandoned potash silo and an inter-building walkway. During production, seagulls landing on the walkway and audibly squawking caused repeated interruptions.[production 7] The interior potash silo was subsequently reused as the Temple of Five for "The Eye of Jupiter" and "Rapture."[2][production 8]
The forest sequences where Karl "Helo" Agathon draws the Cylons into his claymore trap were filmed at Lynn Canyon Park, south end of the Bear Trail, 3663 Park Road, Lynn Valley, North Vancouver.[production 9][3] The Helo/Sharon camp scenes were filmed at the Quarry Picnic area in Cypress Provincial Park, West Vancouver.[production 10]
The Caprica City street scenes where Helo and Sharon are on the run were filmed near the Vancouver Public Library (Library Square, 350 West Georgia Street, Downtown Vancouver) — a Colosseum-inspired nine-storey building designed by Moshe Safdie, Richard Archambault and Barry Downs, which opened May 26, 1995.[production 11][production 12]
The interiors of the Astral Queen prison ship were shot at the Port Mann Power Station, 14300 117th Avenue, Surrey, British Columbia.[4]
Zak Adama's funeral was filmed at Mountainview Cemetery, north of 33rd Avenue, Vancouver. The Caprica City bomb shelter where Helo and Sharon make camp was the interior of The Alibi Room restaurant, 157 Alexander Street, Vancouver.[production 13]
The rooftop scenes depicting Cylon-occupied Caprica — where Six, Doral and Sharon watch Helo — were shot on the roof of Pub 340, 340 Cambie Street (Helo's fire escape side), and on a rooftop to the east across the street from the Dominion Building, 207 West Hastings Street; the Dominion Building's distinctive red roof is visible in the background and the BC Hydro Building appears in the far distance.[production 14] The wide shot of the Cylon-occupied city skyline reveals a ScotiaBank building at 650 West Georgia Street, which first made it apparent to viewers that the series was filmed in Vancouver.[production 15] The old Woodwards Building on West Hastings Street was also used for Six, Doral and Sharon on the rooftop; the Woodwards Building was subsequently demolished.
The dream sequence where Laura Roslin runs through a field, and the swing set scene with Six and Doral, were both filmed at the south end of Robert Burnaby Park near the baseball diamond, located off Edmonds Street and 4th Street in Burnaby.[production 16]
The bridge interchange where a Six and a Five discuss the search for Helo was the sunken parking garage ramp on West Cordova Street (westbound, just after Burrard Street). The ramp occupies the middle lanes of the road; the round green-glass Fairmont Waterfront Hotel is visible at the top of the ramp in the background.[production 17]
The farmhouse where Helo and Sharon spend the night was filmed at the North Shore Equestrian Centre, 1301 Lillooet Road, North Vancouver (near Capilano University; private — contact before visiting). The gravel road where Six is seen walking was Inter River Park, also in North Vancouver.[production 18]
The Cloud 9 garden scenes and the reporters' flagpole lawn were filmed at the UBC Rose Garden, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. The Quorum of Twelve meeting and the Cloud 9 interior scenes were filmed at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent Road, UBC — a cylindrical zinc-clad concert hall designed by Bing Thom Architects (opened May 1997). The scenic crew covered the building's name with a painted sheet, though the bottom of the letters remains faintly visible in some shots.[production 19] The scene where Helo runs from two Number Sixes was filmed at the Koerner Library, UBC.[production 20]
The steps in front of the SFU Academic Quadrangle (off Gaglardi Way, Burnaby) served as the location where Helo shoots Sharon. The exterior of the Delphi Museum was the West Mall Centre of Simon Fraser University; the underground stairs and the stairs on Gaglardi Way were the Transportation Centre. The Orpheum Theatre (on Smithe Street at Seymour, Downtown Vancouver) was used for Gaius Baltar's opera house vision — new footage was shot there again for "Rapture" and "Crossroads, Part I." The Orpheum opened November 7, 1927 and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada on November 15, 1979.[production 21][production 22]
The Raptor crash site on Kobol was Widgeon Slough (private access road), within Pinecone Burke Provincial Park near Port Coquitlam, BC. This forest location was reused for subsequent Kobol scenes through "Fragged" and the "Home" two-parter.[production 23]
Kara Thrace's Caprica apartment and the car garage scenes were filmed at the Waterfall Building (see Miniseries entry above). The Adama drowning-baby sequence was also filmed at Widgeon Slough.
The exterior of Kara's hospital on Caprica was Riverview Hospital, 2601 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam, BC. Riverview opened in 1913 as the "Hospital for the Mind" and operated until July 2012; its grounds have served as a filming location for dozens of productions including The X-Files,Supernatural, and Deadpool 2. It is now the səmiq̓ʷəʔelə/Riverview site, managed by BC Housing in partnership with the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm First Nation. The scenes of Kara being shot and escaping with Helo on Caprica were filmed at Robert Burnaby Park.[production 24]
Elosha's death and the Kobol campsite were filmed at Lynn Canyon Park (off the gravel access road and south end of the Bear Trail). The exterior of the Tomb of Athena and the mountain path sequences were shot at a private quarry (active and dangerous — not accessible to the public). The interior of the Tomb — including the field representing "Earth" — was filmed at Deer Lake Park, at the intersection of Royal Oak Avenue and Deer Lake Parkway, Burnaby.[production 25]
The Caprica Riverwalk flashback scenes and President Richard Adar's office were filmed at Simon Fraser University (Academic Quadrangle and other campus buildings).
The scenes of Starbuck reuniting with Samuel Anders on occupied Caprica were filmed at Capilano Park, 3735 Capilano Road, North Vancouver. The New Caprica City tent settlement was constructed near Richmond, BC, on a private site off Blundell Road (the site now has warehouses).[5] The New Caprica Police graduation ceremony interiors were shot at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver.
Kara's detention cell in the New Caprica Detention Center was the same room used for her Delphi apartment — the Waterfall Building. The New Caprica City exterior was the Richmond site (as above). Breeder's Canyon was Upper Coquitlam River Park, 1791 Pipeline Road, Coquitlam. The Cylon firing squad location was the private quarry used for Kobol scenes in Season 2 (active and dangerous).[production 26]
The beach scenes with Six and Gaius were filmed at Third Beach in Stanley Park, Vancouver. The forest projection sequence was shot in the woods immediately north of the Third Beach parking lot.[production 27]
The outdoor surface and base camp sequences on the algae planet were filmed on private land near Kamloops, British Columbia — specifically at a formation of hoodoo rock pillars off East Shuswap Road. The location was referred to informally by crew as the "hot fudge sundae planet" during scouting. Location photography and behind-the-scenes images were provided to battlestarlocations.com by the Thompson-Nicola Film Commission, the regional film commission serving the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.[production 28][production 29]
The interior of the Temple of Five was filmed at the Lantic Sugar mill — the same abandoned potash silo previously used for Ragnar Anchorage interiors in the Miniseries — partially redressed through visual effects to produce the temple's spires and lighting effects.[production 30]
Laura Roslin's vision of the afterlife shore was filmed at Barnet Marine Park, Burnaby. The vision boat was the MV Abitibi, which departed out of False Creek and up the Burrard Inlet; it was located at the Plaza of Nations, Dock B.[production 33]
The irradiated first Earth surface scenes were filmed at Centennial Beach, Boundary Bay Road, Tsawwassen, Delta, British Columbia — a shoreline within Boundary Bay Regional Park, south of Vancouver.[production 34]
The Centennial Beach location was used again for Kara Thrace's tree. The separate scene of Kara, Leoben Conoy, and the wreckage of her Viper was filmed at Beach Grove Park, 6051 17A Avenue, Tsawwassen — a different location approximately 2 km from Centennial Beach.[production 35]
The Caprica flashback sequences used several Vancouver locations. Roslin swims in the Simon Fraser University fountain in the Academic Quadrangle. A new house in West Vancouver (designed by the same architect as Baltar's Lions Bay home) served as Baltar's Caprica home. A smaller house in West Vancouver, below the new Baltar house, served as Baltar's father's home. Lee Adama's apartment was the Ironworks Building, 235 Alexander Street at Main Street, Vancouver. Sam Anders' pyramid rehabilitation room was the exercise room at Vancouver Film Studios. The strip club scene was filmed at Butter nightclub, 11935 207th Street, Maple Ridge. Roslin's Caprica apartment was the Waterfall Building (east-side penthouse).
The new Earth settlement sequences were filmed on private land near Kamloops, BC — the same general area used for the algae planet in Season 3, this time using the Kamloops grasslands rather than the hoodoos.[production 36] The present-day epilogue newsstand sequence was filmed at the plaza at the north end of Hornby Street along Hastings Street, Downtown Vancouver.[production 37]
The interior of the Cylon laboratory was Riverview Hospital, 2601 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam (interior). The exterior of the laboratory was a stage building exterior at Vancouver Film Studios. Admiral Cain's childhood flashbacks were filmed at the Vancouver Fire Department Training Facility, Vancouver (private).[production 38]
The pyramid training site was filmed at Mid Valley in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve, North Vancouver (accessed via Lillooet Road). The pyramid team base was the Northlawn Building on the Riverview Hospital campus, Coquitlam. The bridge scene was Cleveland Dam, Capilano Park, 3735 Capilano Road, North Vancouver. The train wreck site was the Justice Institute Training Facility, 13500 256th Street, Maple Ridge (restricted access). Both the Capilano Park and the Riverview campus locations were also used for Resistance and Kara pickup scenes. The interior of the Blue Moon bar was the Balthazar Bar; the building has since been demolished.[production 39]
The show's sets include Adama's quarters, an airlock, CIC, several multipurpose rooms, many hallways, Colonial One and the hangar deck. The Miniseries was shot in a larger studio, in which all sets were interconnected. That made it possible to follow Kara Thrace from the hallways to the hangar deck in a single shot. With the beginning of the regular series, the production moved to another studio, which made it necessary to split some of the sets apart.
Vancouver Art Gallery as the Caprica City Courthouse (CAP: "Pilot").
Like its parent series, Caprica was produced entirely in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada. Interior scenes were shot primarily on stages at Vancouver Film Studios in Burnaby, while location shooting throughout Metro Vancouver and the surrounding Lower Mainland provided the visual grammar of Caprica City, Little Tauron, and the other worlds of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol.
The bulk of interior filming for Caprica took place at Vancouver Film Studios, located in Burnaby, British Columbia — the same facility used for the Re-imagined Series. Standing sets on the stages included the Graystone family home interior, the ha'la'tha mob interiors, New Cap City environments, and various GDD offices. The series also made consistent use of BCIT's Aerospace Technology Campus in Richmond as its primary real-world location for Graystone Industries interiors and campus scenes throughout its entire run.[production 1]
The building at 750 Hornby Street in downtown Vancouver served as the Caprica City Courthouse throughout the series. Designed by Francis Rattenbury and opened in 1911 as the British Columbia Provincial Courthouse, the building was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1980 and converted to its current use as the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1983.
Both the building's exterior and interior were used. In the pilot, Joseph Adama practices law in one of the Vancouver Art Gallery's heritage courtrooms — specifically what visitcaprica.com identifies as room 301, one of the original courtroom spaces retained during the conversion and available for event rental.[production 2] The exterior fountain and steps appear in the same episode when Joseph and Sam Adama speak outside the courthouse,[production 3] and the fountain's distinctive radial pattern is visible in a CGI aerial establishing shot used in Blowback.[production 4]
The main branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 350 West Georgia Street was used in multiple capacities across the series. Its exterior stood in for Caprica City Hall in the unaired DVD version of the pilot, visible when Joseph Adama and Daniel Graystone meet outside the building following the GDD briefing; in the broadcast version, this exterior was replaced with a computer-generated establishing shot.[production 5]
The library's interior atrium appeared as a Gemenon spaceport arrival terminal in Blowback, and its exterior area served as a Caprica City street location in both Gravedancing — where Sister Clarice steals an e-sheet — and Blowback again, for the Joseph Adama/Guatrau scene and the Duram/GDD Director Singh scene.[production 6]
The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts at 777 Homer Street, directly across from the Vancouver Public Library, served as a recurring Caprica City street-level location. In Blowback, scenes involving the Guatrau and his party were filmed at the intersection of Georgia and Homer and in front of the Centre's main entrance, with the Guatrau's party beginning their walk at Georgia and Homer before continuing to the Centre's doors.[production 7]
The Orpheum Theatre at 884 Granville Street — the same venue used as the BSG Opera House in the Re-imagined Series — served as the V-Club virtual reality nightclub throughout Caprica. The pilot's extended V-Club rave sequence was filmed in the Orpheum's upper lobby and balcony areas; shots of Zoe Graystone on the balcony place the camera roughly eye-level with the chandeliers, confirming the upper level was used. The pilot DVD commentary track confirms the Orpheum identification.[production 8]
Additional V-Club scenes filmed at the Orpheum during the pilot shoot were held back for use in later episodes. The social club where Philomon and Zoe/Rachel meet in Know Thy Enemy was also shot there; the podcast commentary for that episode notes it was among several V-World scenes filmed simultaneously with the pilot.[production 9]
The underground Granville Station on TransLink's Expo Line, beneath Granville Street in downtown Vancouver, served as the Maglev Light Rail Transit station from which the bombing of the MLMT train departs in the pilot. Vancouver signage was covered or replaced with Caprican equivalents, the SkyTrain cars were replaced with a digital model of the Colonial Maglev, and the train was digitally composited into the station environment. A H&M retail advertisement is briefly visible in one shot, apparently overlooked during visual effects work.[production 10]
The plaza and staircase of Oceanic Plaza in downtown Vancouver, near Guinness Tower, appeared in End of Line as a Caprica City exterior location where Tomas Vergis and Colonel Patel depart a building in the rain. The distinctive concrete railings, recessed staircase, and plaza fountain provided the key visual identification.[production 11]
The Coal Harbour waterfront, including the area west of the Vancouver Convention Centre at 999 Canada Place, was used throughout the series for establishing shots of Caprica City's steel-and-glass skyline. Location scouts Don Kanna and Tom Firth described Coal Harbour as their go-to location for Caprica City establishing shots in a January 2010 Los Angeles Times interview.[commentary 1] The Convention Centre area also appeared in Rebirth during the unloading of the U-87 Cyber Combat Unit, with harbor construction visible in background shots helping to identify the location.[production 12]
The north end of David Lam Park, at the intersection of Drake and Pacific Streets in Vancouver's Concord Pacific neighbourhood, served as a Caprica City waterfront meeting location in the pilot, where Joseph Adama has a conversation with the Guatrau. The distinctive concrete pillar installations at the park's northern edge are visible in the scene and provided the key visual match.[production 15]
The Smile Restaurant at 424 West Pender Street appeared in the pilot as the diner where Joseph Adama and Daniel Graystone meet to smoke and drink coffee. The neon "Smile" sign visible through the window of the scene confirms the identification; additional commercial signage including a Yagger's awning and a reflected Ramada logo across the street are also visible in the scene.[production 16]
Simon Fraser University's downtown Vancouver campus at 500 Granville Street — the Segal Graduate School of Business, occupying a former department store building at Granville and West Hastings — was used in the pilot for the interior scene where Joseph Adama meets with Minister Chambers. The pilot DVD commentary describes the location as "SFU's downtown campus, a turn-of-the-century building"; room 1900 is the likely specific space, based on floor plan comparison.[production 17]
Note: This location appears only in the unaired DVD version of the pilot and was not seen by broadcast audiences.
General Motors Place (renamed Rogers Arena on July 6, 2010, after filming concluded) at 800 Griffiths Way in downtown Vancouver was used for the Atlas Arena Pyramid stadium sequence in the unaired pilot. For the broadcast version, the Pyramid arena footage was entirely reshot on sound stages and the GM Place material was not used. Doug Drexler discussed the arena's use and the subsequent design of the CGI Atlas Arena replacement on the Drex Files blog.[production 18]
The former Canadian Pacific Railway Roundhouse community centre and surrounding plaza in Yaletown, at 181 Roundhouse Mews, appeared in the pilot as the exterior surroundings for Wilson Elementary School, where young William Adama attends school. The red checkerboard paving of the plaza and the distinctive curved walkway over the former locomotive turntable are visible as Joseph picks up William after school.[production 20]
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on the UBC campus was used in the pilot for the interior GDD briefing scene on the STO following the MLMT bombing — both the Chan Centre's interior and exterior had also been used in the Re-imagined Series.[production 22]
Amanda Graystone's Caprican surgical workplace was filmed at the National Research Council Institute for Industrial Technology at 3250 E. Mall on the UBC campus. The identification is based on visual comparison of the exterior and was reported as an unconfirmed tip as of visitcaprica.com's last update, pending interior access for verification.[production 23]
The Pender Street corridor in Vancouver's Chinatown district provided the street-level exterior of Little Tauron throughout the series, with production adding Greek-language signage to suggest the Tauron immigrant enclave. Location scouts Kanna and Firth described Chinatown as the go-to location for Little Tauron in their January 2010 Los Angeles Times interview, noting "we would go to Chinatown for that."[commentary 2]
Specific Chinatown locations confirmed by visitcaprica.com include the corner of Georgia and Gore Streets, which appears in Rebirth when Sam Adama and Willie walk through Little Tauron,[production 24] and the block along Gore Street where Sam carries out an act of intimidation in the same episode — the building address 667 Gore is briefly visible on screen, establishing the location without ambiguity.[production 25] The intersection of Powell and Gore served as the ha'la'tha gathering spot across multiple episodes.[production 26]
The CG matte painting of Little Tauron used in the broadcast cut of the pilot incorporated the "Public Market" sign from Seattle's Pike Place Market, visible in the digital composite — a production continuity error identified through frame-by-frame image analysis.[production 27]
Joseph Adama's Little Tauron apartment in the pilot episode was filmed at the Waterfall Building, 1540 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver — a loft-style residential building near Granville Island that served as a recurring location throughout both the Re-imagined Series and Caprica. The pilot DVD commentary confirms its use for the Adama apartment interior. In subsequent episodes, the apartment was replaced by a purpose-built sound stage set.[production 28]
The exterior of the apartment shown in the unaired pilot was filmed at a work/live building near the intersection of 6th Avenue and Granville Street, identifiable by its distinctive cantilevered walkways.[production 29]
BCIT's Aerospace Technology Campus at 3800 Cessna Drive in Richmond, adjacent to Vancouver International Airport, served as the primary real-world location for Graystone Industries throughout the entire series. The campus opened in 2007 and its contemporary institutional aesthetic suited the production's near-future visual style. visitcaprica.com notes its consistent use from the pilot through the full series.[production 30]
Simon Fraser University's main Burnaby campus was one of the most frequently used location settings across the entire BSG franchise, and Caprica continued this tradition. The SFU Academic Quadrangle had served as the Caprica City Riverwalk market area since the Re-imagined Series Miniseries, and the same spaces were used for Riverwalk scenes in Caprica.[commentary 3]
Simon Fraser University — Surrey Campus (Central City)
The SFU Surrey campus within the Central City development at 10153 King George Boulevard above the Surrey Central SkyTrain station — designed by architect Bing Thom and opened in 2006 — provided two distinct locations for Caprica. The Inter-Colonial Spaceport arrival hall was filmed there for the pilot, and the same complex served as the exterior of Vergis Corporation's Tauron headquarters in Know Thy Enemy. visitcaprica.com confirmed the latter through the building's distinctive new construction profile and roof form.[production 32]
The Museum of Anthropology at UBC at 6393 NW Marine Drive — designed by Arthur Erickson and opened in 1976 with a post-and-beam structure inspired by Northwest Coast Indigenous longhouses — provided the setting for Daniel Graystone and Amanda Graystone dancing at a museum fundraiser in Know Thy Enemy. The episode also depicts Daniel "seeing" Tomas Vergis across the museum, though the room where the dancing occurs and the room from which Vergis would be visible are not adjacent in the actual building; production used artistic license with the interior geography.[production 33]Bill Reid's sculpture The Raven and the First Men, which appears on the Canadian twenty-dollar bill, is visible in background shots.
Several outdoor scenes set on Gemenon in Blowback were filmed at and around the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club, located just north of Burnaby Lake. The rugby goalposts visible in the background of one shot provided the key identification; the surrounding deciduous tree line and field layout confirmed the match against aerial imagery.[production 34]
The Graystone family home, referred to informally as the "Willow House," was located at the corner of Park Avenue and First Street in New Westminster, British Columbia. It was used for all exterior Graystone home scenes throughout the series; the location was identified through background detail matching in a later episode and confirmed through a personal site visit in the summer of 2012.[production 36]
Lacy Rand's residence, first seen in Rebirth and used in subsequent episodes, was filmed at 685 West 71st Avenue in Vancouver, identified through clues appearing in a later episode.[production 37]
A significant complication for researchers is the existence of two distinct versions of the pilot episode: an unaired extended cut released on DVD in April 2009, and a broadcast version that aired in January 2010 with substantial re-editing, new CGI, and several replaced location shots. Several major locations, including the Rogers Arena Pyramid stadium sequence and the Vancouver Public Library's use as Caprica City Hall exterior, appear only in the unaired DVD version and were not seen by broadcast audiences. These distinctions are noted throughout this article.
The primary reference for Caprica filming locations is visitcaprica.com, a fan-maintained site whose author personally visited and photographically documented the majority of confirmed locations. Additional sources include the Caprica pilot DVD commentary track, the battlestarlocations.com PDF guide compiled with input from BSG location manager Kent Sponagle, and a January 24, 2010 Los Angeles Times interview with location scouts Don Kanna and Tom Firth.
visitcaprica.com — Episode-by-episode Caprica location guide with personal site visits and photographic documentation
battlestarlocations.com — BSG Re-imagined Series location guide compiled with input from location manager Kent Sponagle; includes Caprica City locations shared with RDM
