Dexter: Original Sin Filming Locations: Deb & Sofia shopping for sunglasses
The
location: Shopping for sunglasses
Q.
What is it supposed to be on the show?
A. A section of South Beach.
Q.
Where is it supposed to be on the show?
A. South Beach, Miami, Florida.
Q.
When did we see it on the show?
A. In Episode 2, of Season 1.
Debra
and her friend Sofia are hanging out at South Beach,
checking out sunglasses at a seaside Sunglass Hut kiosk.
When Sofia announces that she plans to buy an expensive pair, Deb asks
how, saying that they cost $150 (the equivalent of about $350 in 2025).
Sofia replies by waving a wad of money, and says that she pawned her
dead grandmother's mink coat. She encourages Deb to find something
around her house to pawn, saying that people don't miss things when
they're gone. And Debra appears to be considering the possibility...
In the same scene, Sofia surprises Debra by expressing a sexual interest in her brother, Dexter, for the first time.
Q.
What is it actually in real life?
A. A shopping / dining village.
Q.
Where can I find it in real life?
A. This scene was actually shot in Long Beach, California, at a popular waterside tourist attraction known as Shoreline Village.
You'll find it at 429 Shoreline Village Drive, in Long Beach, a short
walk from the Aquarium of the Pacific, and not far from the docked Queen Mary.
Shoreline Village is a collection of picturesque shops and restaurants
located on a boardwalk running next to the boats docked at the Shoreline Marina.
For the scene, they dressed the boardwalk with items commonplace in the
1990s, including a telephone booth, a Fotomat kiosk, and a kiosk selling
beepers (none of which you'll find at current-day Shoreline Village).
The original Dexter series shot at least a dozen scenes at Shoreline Village, both out on the boardwalk and inside the stores and restaurants.
Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?
A. I have
visited Shoreline Village on multiple occasions. It’s a very attractive
little place to visit on a hot summer day. So I recognized it the minute
I saw it.
At the very start of the scene, there is a brief glimpse of the downtown
Long Beach skyline in the background, as well as a distinctive canopy
that marks a bridge across Shoreline Drive.
In particular, I spotted the One World Trade Center building, a tall brown tower that is one of the easiest buildings to recognize on the Long Beach skyline.
In fact, I was even there one day when they were filming an episode of the original Dexter (involving he and young Harrison visiting Santa Claus).
