Q. What is it supposed to be on the show? A. A road/parking lot at night, with a marina visible in the background. Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show? A. Somewhere in Miami. Q. When did we see it on the show? A. In Episode 2, of Season 7, "Sunshine and Frosty Swirl". Dexter has an unconscious Louis in his car trunk,and is about to kill the increasingly annoying guy -- who would be his first victim after his sister Debra found out his secret. But then Dex remembers that he promised Debra he would call her if he got the urge to kill. So despite temptation, Dexter does just that, waking her up in the middle of the night. (In fact, Dexter had drugged her meal, so she would fall asleep early, giving him some unsupervised time to go after Louis.) She meets him at his car, parked on a road near a marina. He tells her that he snuck out of the house while she was asleep. She asks what he has done. He says "Nothing, but I wanted to." He tells her that his bloody compulsion almost got the best of him.  Debra is encouraged by the fact that he called her, and that he managed to resist his impulses. She tells him it's a huge step, and it makes her think that maybe he can control it, after all.  She gives him a pep talk, telling him she won't let him give up. When she leaves, Dexter (persuaded, at least for now), takes Louis's unconscious body from the trunk of his car and puts him on a nearby public bench, thinking that waking up there might make Louis realize he's in trouble. He gets in his car and drives away, thinking that he still needs to get Louis out of his life, but not by killing him. Q. What is it actually in real life? A. A breakwater.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. This scene was shot on the very wide, rocky breakwater which runs out southeast from Long Beach's Shoreline Village (starting near Parker's Lighthouse), and wraps around the Shoreline Marina.

The breakwater is a half-mile long, and is so wide (about 140 feet) that it contains (between its rocky edges) a two-lane street, parking spaces on both sides, grassy strips of lawn, and bike/pedestrian paths running along both edges.

The breakwater offers a fine view of the nearby Queen Mary, docked across the water (something the Dexter crew has to avoid showing, of course, since they're supposed to be in Miami).

On the breakwater, there are three circular turnaround areas, each with a round, grassy median planted with palm trees.

This scene was filmed just north of the first of those turnarounds.

Dexter's car is parked facing east/northeast towards the marina.  When he drives off at the end, he is headed southeast, and we see him circle around one of those palm-tree laden turnarounds.  (Actually, he should have u-turned, because in real life he's heading towards the dead end of the breakwater.)

The Shoreline Marina is located off 450 E. Shoreline Drive, in Long Beach, CA.

To reach the breakwater, you need to circle south of Shoreline Village's parking lot (via Shoreline Village Drive), until you almost reach the Parker's Lighthouse restaurant, and then turn left (south) onto the breakwater.

Dexter has filmed a lot at Shoreline Village over the years - starting with that Santa's Land scene way back in the first season.  Last season, they shot scenes of Travis Marshall kidnapping a woman in the nearby parking lot.

They have also filmed on this same breakwater before, including the scene in Season 2 where they found the body of a young Skinner victim, and last seasons scene of Travis abducting a groggy Dexter at the marina.

I shot these photos of that same breakwater spot in October 2012.







Here is an aerial photo of the location.  Here is a map link.

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

A.  In the early seasons, I usually had to hunt down the locations after viewing the episodes, using clues from the various scenes.  By the now, though, I've 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 airs, I already know most (but not all) of the filming locations, and only need to watch the episodes and match up the scenes with the correct locations.

This group of helpful fans includes Rick, Ellen, Elaine, Mia, Joel, Susan, Eric, Jeff, Kerry & others. My thanks to all of them.

I know this breakwater well.  As I mentioned earlier, they have filmed here a lot over the years, and I've driven out on it several times to shoot photos. Not to mention, the Shoreline Village area is one of my favorite local haunts.  So I simply recognized it when I saw it.