A. A residential home.

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

A. 3319 Meadow Lane, in Miami.

Q. When did we see it on the show?

A. As the new home of newlyweds Dexter & Rita (following their marriage at the end of last season), it is a primary location during the 4th season, and as such, is seen in virtually every episode.

It's where Dexter ambushes killer cop, Zoe Kruger.


It's where Dexter temporarily moves his killing tools and blood slides into a back yard shed (after Rita makes him give up his old apartment).

It's where they have Thanksgiving Dinner (with Debra and Vince Masuka coming over), and where the neighbor, Elliott, kisses Rita.

And in the final episode of Season 4, this is where Dexter finds Rita dead in the bathtub, a victim of the Trinity Killer.

At the start of Season 5, it's the crime scene where police arrive and remove Rita's body. It's seen later in Episode 1 of Season 5 ("My Bad") when Debra & Quinn clean up the blood, and then have sex. Later still, after Dexter has rescued Lumen, he moves the traumatized woman into his former house (while he lives at his apartment), while they are stalking her attackers together.

Q. What is it actually in real life?

A. A residential home. But nowhere near Miami.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. The house is at 3319 E. 1st Street, in Long Beach, CA.

It's on the north side of street, between Coronado Ave (on the west) and Redondo Ave (on the east), in the Bluff Park section of Long Beach, just a block inland from the beach.

It's about three miles southeast of Shoreline Village (a major filming location in past seasons) and about a mile northwest of the Belmont Pier area.

As you probably know by now, they film a lot in Long Beach. The house is just a few blocks south of Trinity's school, and about half a mile southwest of the gas station.

It's about three miles southeast of the plaza where Lundy first bumped into the Trinity Killer, and about a mile southwest of the park where they found Miguel Prado's body in the last episode of the previous (3rd) season.

( It should be noted that they occasionally mix in scenes shot in other areas when they are supposedly in Dexter's neighborhood, such as those Neighborhood Watch chase scenes, which were filmed in another Long Beach neighborhood, far from Bluff Park. )


I shot the photos below in June 2009.



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




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

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

A.  Before the start of filming for the 4th season, I read in Tim Grobaty's Press-Telegram column that "Dexter" would be filming this year in the Bluff Park section.

As a challenge, I went to Google StreetView and picked out three or four homes in the Bluff Park neighborhood that I thought might be likely candidates. (You know, the one's with palm trees and red-tile roofs... that Miami look.)

I heard (from an interview with Michael C. Hall) that the new season would begin filming in June.

So, in mid-June, I drove down to Bluff Park on the chance that they might already be shooting there.  And sure enough, when I turned down First Street, there were the usual big white trucks, trailers and the camera crew filming a scene. (And sure enough, it was at one of the same red-tile roofed houses that I had picked out in advance...)

I came back later, after the crews were gone, and shot the photos you see above.

When the first episode finally aired, in October, I was able to confirm that it was indeed Dexter & Rita's new place.