A. A residential home.

Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show?

A. In a modest neighborhood, in Miami, Florida.

Q. When did we see it on the show?

A. In Episode 4 (of Season 1), "Let's Give The Boy A Hand", and fleeting glimpses in other episodes when they the area around Rita's house.

It is the house next door to Rita's home, and her neighbor (played by Erin Daniels) has a noisy puppy ('Walter') in the back yard that won't stop whining, because the neighbor leaves the poor thing tied up night and day without attention.

When Dexter knocks on the door and politely asks the neighbor to keep the dog quiet, the nasty neighbor tells him (more or less) to bug off.

Rita also pays a visit, but the neighbor turns downright rude - laughing at Rita. The pitiful, lonely puppy continues to whine loudly.

Eventually, Rita, unable to take it any more, kidnaps the puppy and gives it to a loving family.

( In the episode, it's Halloween time, and when Dexter goes to visit the house, a decorative skeleton rattles at him when he walks past it on the porch. )

Q. What is it actually in real life?

A. An actual house, but far from Miami.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. Right where you'd expect - next door to Rita's house.


The house is actually at 2354 San Anseline Avenue, in Long Beach, California. It's the house immediately to the left (north) of Rita's, on the east side of San Anseline (midway between 23rd Street & Vernon Street), in a residential neighborhood known as 'Los Altos'.

I shot the photo below in Dec. 2007

[ Warning: This is a private home.  Do not knock on their door, trespass on their property,
or do anything else that might disturb the residents. ]

The majority of location filming for "Dexter" is done in Long Beach.

This Los Altos neighborhood contains at least six different homes used on the TV show, including Rita's house, Dexter's childhood home, Angel's house, the Dade City house that Dexter inherits from his biological father, and the house of the old lady across the street.

The neighborhood is located just south of the San Diego (405) Freeway, and just east of Bellflower Blvd (and north of 23rd Street), in upper Long Beach.

Here is an aerial photo of the houses. And here is a map link.

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

A. I already knew where Rita's house was, so it was a no-brainer. (Also, most of the house number is visible on the porch, in the scene when the Halloween skeleton rattles at Dexter.) All I needed to do was verify it when I went to shoot the photos.