Dexter Filming Locations: Narrow Walkway outside Police Station
The
location: Narrow Walkway
Q.
What is it supposed to be on the show?
A. A very narrow walkway (or alley) between two buildings at a police station.
Q.
Where is it supposed to be on the show?
A. Just outside the Miami Metro Police Department.
Q.
When did we see it on the show?
A. In Episode 3, of Season 7, "Buck the System".
Dexter's
frustration has been building up since Debra found out his dark secret,
and she has been keeping him from killing anyone.
So
he sort of snaps while trying to take a DNA swab from an uncooperative
suspect, and almost strangles the guy. Debra pulls Dexter off
him, and takes them into this narrow alleyway to talk.
They get into an argument. He
warns her that if she doesn't quit following him, something bad will
happen. She asks what that means. He says that he can't suppress
his urges, that he can only control them by following Harry's code.
Debra refuses to accept this.
In
Episode 4, "Run", Debra again takes Dexter out to the alley to speak
privately. This time, she asks him about Rita and Trinity. Dexter
confirms that Trinity killed Rita, and tells Debra that he killed
Trinity (although he refuses to say that he killed him mere minutes
after Trinity had killed Rita). She gets a call from Angel,
saying that the police have found Speltzer.
We see the walkway again in the final Season 8, in Episode 2 ("Every Silver Lining"), when Dexter tells Deb he knows she shot 'El Sapo'.
Q.
What is it actually in real life?
A. A narrow passageway between two buildings.
Q.
Where can I find it in real life?
A. This is actually the narrow
space between the large Parking Structure B at Sunset-Gower Studio and
the east side of their Stage 7.
The walkway runs north/south, between the west side of the large parking garage and the east side of Stage 7.
The camera is looking south when it sees Deb, and north when it looks at Dexter. (Except for the final, bottom screencap, which is looking south.)
Stage 7 is a 17,559-foot sound stage at Sunset-Gower, where The Newsroom is currently being shot, and where Six Feet Under was previously filmed (which, of course, starred Michael C. Hall before he became the star of Dexter).
Back in the '60s, they shot The Monkees and I Dream of Jeannie at the same Stage 7.
And before that, they filmed such movies as Death of a Salesman, Pal Joey and The Bridge on the River Kwai here.
This is a photo of the south entrance to that narrow walkway (with the parking structure on the right).
The photo comes from a Flicker collection by Anthony A. Altomare
( at http://www.flickr.com/photos/25313281@N00/115363620 )
You can find his website at www.wearebindle.com
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 figured this space was
at the studio when I first saw it in the previews. So I started
checking aerial photos of Sunset-Gower to see where it might be.
Turns out there are actually several narrow passageways between the
stages. But the shots showing Debra also reveal a small amount of
the parking garage on the left side. Knowing that, it was relatively
simple to determine which one it was, and the details matched.
A
studio map gave me the number of the sound stage.
And while I was creating
this page, and looking for shots of Stage 7, I discovered the photo
you see above, which actually shows the south opening to that narrow
walkway.
