Q. What is it supposed to be on the show? A. A gas station. Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show? A. "On Coral", in Miami. Q. When did we see it on the show? A. In Episode 9, of Season 5, "Teenage Wasteland". Astor & her friend Olivia have gone missing, and Dexter & Lumen think Jordan Chase might be behind it. The next-door neighbor, Elliott, says he saw a guy in a white panel van, with a partial license plate number of "N4B something..." So, Dexter calls the cops, reporting it as a probable child abduction.  The cops put out an APD on the vehicle. In this scene, we see a man stop to buy gas at a gas station in the city.  He begins to pump gas, when suddenly police cars swarm into the station, and police jump out, weapons drawn, and force the man down on his knees at gunpoint. When police deliver him to the Miami station, Dexter pulls the guy out of the car and demands to know where Astor is. The man turns out to be Barry Kurt, who describes himself as "Olivia's father - sort of - I live with her mom." Just then, Dexter gets a phone call, and learns that the girls are at Bayside, where they are being held for shoplifting. Q. What is it actually in real life? A. A gas station.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. This is the Shell station (and 7-11 minimart) at the northeast corner of Ocean Blvd and Alamitos Ave, in Long Beach.

The official address is 805 E. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA.

The tall, picturesque building you see in the background is the Villa Riviera, a local landmark, which is right across the street (to the south).

The gas station is just south of three other Dexter locations on Alamitos Avenue: the moving van rental place, Angels' bar fight, and the motel where Liddy is busted by LaGuerta.

Once south of Ocean, Alamitos Avenue is renamed Shoreline Drive, and that's where they shot the driving scene in Season 3 when Dexter was abducted (for his bachelor party). It's also there that you'll find Shoreline Village, where they filmed a number of scenes, including this episode's scenes of Liddy phoning Quinn and of Astor busted for shoplifting.





I shot the photos below in November 2010:
(the camera is looking south, towards the Villa Riviera).









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

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

A.  In previous seasons, I've usually had to hunt down the locations after viewing the episodes, using clues from the various scenes.  By the 5th season, though, I'd 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, and my own personal reconnaissance around town, by the time the first episode aired, I already knew most (but not all) of the filming locations, and only needed to watch the episodes and match up the scenes with the correct locations.

This group of helpful fans includes Kerry, Rick, Joel, Geoff, Ellen, Julie, Susan, Jeff, and others. My thanks to all of them.

Rick let me know that they were filming there. (Thanks, Rick!)