Here is a screen capture of the first glimpse of the exterior of the crime lab, as seen on the "CSI: Miami", in Episode 102 ("Wet Foot, Dry Foot"):

Miami?  Nope. Try Hawthorne, California.

The show is filmed in the same studio as "The O.C.", namely Manhattan Beach Studios, and the "Crime  Lab" is really an unusual building a just a block or two east of the studio.

(The same building was used often in "The O.C." as "The Newport Group" building, where Kirsten Cohen worked.)

In real life the building is the administrative headquarters of the F.A.A. (Federal Aviation Administration) Federal Credit Union, and it's located at 14600 Aviation Blvd, tucked away between two Marriott hotels in what is known as Aviation Center, in Hawthorne, CA (on their western border with Manhattan Beach).

It is just south of Rosecrans Avenue and just north of Marine Avenue, on the east side of Aviation Blvd. To reach it, turn east onto a private street named Aviation Center Drive. The building is at the east end of that short street/parking lot.

The spectacular, 35,000 square foot building opened in 2000; it was designed by Nadel Architects Inc (you can see photos of it on their website, if you click "portfolio" then "public sector"). Made of limestone and glass, its 15 degree tilt to the west salutes the notion of flight - an appropriate touch for an Aviation office building...

Here is an aerial photo of the building from Live Local (the building faces west).

Here is a Live Local aerial photo of that mansion.

In 2006 alone, they filmed at the following locations in Pasadena:


• A huge, spectacular mansion at 1288 S Oakland Ave.
   (and a slightly smaller mansion next door at 1288 S. Oakland Ave.)
  
• The city's Pacific Asia Museum, at 46 N. Los Robles Ave.
  
• The 'Paseo Colorado' mall, at 340 E. Colorado Blvd.
  
• The unique Castle Green apartments, at 99 S Raymond Ave.
  
• Rusnak Dodge, a car dealership at 2000 E Colorado Blvd.
  
  

"CSI: Miami" films almost constantly in Long Beach, all over the city, taking advantage of the town's shoreline views, waterfront homes, palm trees, marinas, and general resemblance to Miami. They're careful not to show any obvious Long Beach landmarks, but if you know the city well, you will be able to spot quite a few local spots when you watch the show.

For those of you unfamiliar with Long Beach, it is a large city 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles, bordered by the Pacific Ocean on its south side, by the Los Angeles Harbor on the west, and by Orange County on the east. It has a beautiful coastline that features the docked Queen Mary, Shoreline Village, the Aquarium of the Pacific, Craftsman homes, grassy parks overlooking the blue ocean, Naples Island (laced with canals and filled with multi-million dollar waterfront homes), a sandy penninsula dotted with beach homes, two marinas full of boats... plus a huge working port of its own - in short, an ideal filming location for this sort of show.

Here are just a few of the places in Long Beach where CSI: Miami has filmed:

• Alamitos Bay (including Naples Island and the L.B. peninsula beaches).
• Spinnaker Bay, near the Marine Stadium in East Long Beach.
• Colorado Lagoon Park, at 5119 E. Colorado Street.
• Recreation Park, at 5000 E Anaheim Street.
• El Dorado Park, at 7550 E. Spring Street.
• The Long Beach Convention Center, at 300 E. Ocean Boulevard.
• The Aquarium Of The Pacific, at 100 Aquarium Way (off Shoreline  Drive).
• The Queensway Bay Bridge (which links Shoreline Village to the Queen Mary.)
• The World Trade Center, off Ocean Boulevard at One World Trade Center.
• The Long Beach Airport, at 4100 E. Donald Douglas Drive (near the 405).
• The penthouse of the International Tower at 700 E. Ocean Boulevard.
• Long Beach City College at 4901 E. Carson Street.
• The Veterans Medical Center, at 5901 E. 7th Street.
• The WestCoast Hotel (near the Queen Mary) at 700 Queensway Drive.
• 'Naga' restaurant (near the Queen Mary) at 600 Queensway Drive.
• The Walker Building at 115 4th Street, in downtown.
• Passport Coffee House, at 449 E. Broadway in downtown Long Beach.
• 'House of Hayden', a bar at 421 E. First Street.
• An OSH Hardware store at 440 Atlantic Ave., in north Long Beach.
• A nice middle-class home at 3812 Pine, in the town's northern Country Club Drive area.

Here's is a map link to Long Beach, with a few notable spots marked.