Q. What is it supposed to be on the show? A. A hotel room, with an ocean view. Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show? A.  The establishing shot of the exterior shows the Fontainebleau III Sorrento condo, at 4391 Collins Avenue, in Miami Beach. Q. When did we see it on the show? A. In Episode 8, of Season 6, "Sin of Omission". Dexter is called to a crime scene, where he finds his police co-workers standing over the nude, dead body of a young, high-end call girl (identified as Jessica Morris) lying face down on the floor, in a puddle of blood. Masuka says that the lobby downstairs is a known hangout for working girls.  The detectives on the scene assume it's a simple heroin overdose. But Dexter, examining the body, spots evidence that the body has been moved, after death. His guess is that she died of an overdose, and then someone (perhaps her john), came in, discovered the body, attempted to resuscitate her with CPR, and then fled. Just then, LaGuerta unexpectedly appears on the scene, and inquires about what they've found. (Later, LaGuerta tells Debra to close the case as an overdose - but it appears she is covering for someone else.) Q. What is it actually in real life? A. An apartment house/condo. Q. Where can I find it in real life? A. This scene was shot inside an apartment tower at 1900 E. Ocean Blvd., on the coast of Long Beach, CA. In fact the name of the building is "1900 Ocean". It's an 18-story hi-rise, located on the south side of Ocean Blvd, at 14th Place, just west of Cherry Ave

Like the building shown in the establishing Miami shot, it sits right on the beach, which allowed them to get that key ocean view out the window.

The room in question is actually a lobby, towards the top of the building, where the residents have their deli.  The producers brought in the furniture in the scene, and even added a few fake walls.

The building is about midway between Shoreline Village (where they filmed the scene of Travis & Gellar at a nightclub) and the Belmont Pier (where they filmed the snakes-in-victim scene).

(The building has its own website.)

I shot this photo of the tower in 2011.






And the photos below, of the set, were sent to me by a fan, Eric P., who has a friend who lives
in the building. The photos were shot before filming took place (on August 19, 2011):

Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?

A.  In previous seasons, I've usually had to hunt down the locations after viewing the episodes, using clues from the various scenes.  By the 6th season, though, I'd developed a small group of fans, spies & tipsters who kept an eye out for Dexter filming in their neighborhoods, and would let me know in advance when something was about to film there.

Between those reports, my own personal reconnaissance around town, and a few new resources I discovered, by the time the first episode aired, I already knew most (but not all) of the filming locations, and only needed to watch the episodes and match up the scenes with the correct locations.

This group of helpful fans includes Kerry, Rick, Ellen, Susan, Joel, Julie, Geoff, Jeff, Jason, Jen, and others. My thanks to all of them.

This time, Elaine, who lives nearby, received a notice that they would be filming soon at 1900 Ocean, and was kind enough to send me a copy of the notice.  Later, Eric P. sent me the photos of the set. (Thanks, Elaine & Eric!)