A. A pay phone in a public place.

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 4 (of Season 3) "All in the Family".

Worried that his new friend, Miguel Prado, might share their deadly secret (about Freebo) with
his brother (Ramon Prado), Dexter is determined to convince Miguel that Ramon is an untrustworthy troublemaker.

As part of his plan, Dexter stops at a public pay phone and places a fake call to Ramon.

Pretending to be an informant with information about Freebo, Dexter tells Ramon to meet him at a bar, and even asks him to order what he knows is Ramon's favorite drink.

Dexter knows that Ramon has both a temper and a drinking problem, so after making sure he will go to a bar, he then stands him up, to guarantee that he will grow angry and hostile.

In the background of this scene, behind Dexter, we see a tall, modern office building.

Later, Dexter takes Miguel to the bar, where they find a drunken Ramon causing a scene.  Dexter secretly makes things worse, by prompting a guard to arrest Ramon - all of which succeeds in causing Miguel to distance himself from his brother.

Q. What is it actually in real life?

A. A fake phone booth, next to a real building - but not in Miami.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. The distinctive office building seen behind Dexter is actually the brand new Technicolor building, built recently on the lot of Sunset-Gower Studio, where "Dexter" is filmed.

The address of the studio is 1438 N. Gower Street. As you might expect, it's at the corner of Sunset Blvd and Gower. But the address of the Technicolor building is 6040 Sunset Blvd., in Hollywood.

Located near the studio's main entrance, the new Technicolor building is bounded by Sunset Blvd on the north, Beachwood Drive on the west, Gordon Street on the east, and the rest of the studio on the south.

Here is a photo of the building, from the studio's website:






Here is an aerial photo of the building. And here is a map link.  (Bear in mind that the building isn't visible from all directions, because some of the aerial photos were shot before it was built. Until recently, it was just a parking lot.)


Quite a few scenes have been shot in the neighborhood surrounding the studio. It is across the street from both Teegan's house (where Dexter kills Freebo) and Anton's apartment house, and is also near the tailor shop where Dexter is grabbed by the Skinner, the school where he picks up Rita's kids, the traffic accident scene, the hooker motel, as well as the homes of Wendell Owens and Ramon Prado.

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

A. I normally wouldn't have bothered with so short a scene, but I was somewhat intrigued by the unusual building behind Dexter. Considering its obvious location, I should have found it quickly, but I had no idea it was part of the studio, so I didn't really know where to start looking, and soon gave up on it.

It was only later, when I received a tip from someone in the know, that I finally found it. (Thanks!)