Dexter Filming Locations: Coral Cove Marina

DEXTER Filming Locations - hundreds of actual places where the TV show Dexter was filmed.


The location: Dexter's former marina

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

    A. Coral Cove Marina.


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

    A. Somewhere in Miami.


Q. When did we see it on the show?

    A. In Episode 8, of Season 7, "Argentina".

    LaGuerta is at the marina, talking to the Marina Master in his office.

    He's sitting at a computer, going through a list of names that LaGuerta has given him, checking to see if any of them docked their boat at his marina.

    He eventually comes up with the name Dexter Morgan.

    He tells her Dexter had a slip there, but that he moved his boat, despite the fact that he had eight months to go on his lease.

    LaGuerta asks him when Dexter moved his boat, and the guy tells her it was in May 2007 (the same time the Bay Harbor Butcher case was breaking).


Q. What is it actually in real life?

    A. A marina, and a floating restaurant.


Q. Where can I find it in real life?

    A. The building we see at the start of the scene, which bears a sign reading "Coral Cove Marina", is actually the Chowder Barge, a local landmark of sorts, a floating, tilting diner, which has been moored at this marina since the late '60s.





The Chowder Barge is docked at a somewhat seedy little marina called Leeward Bay Marina, at 611 N. Henry Ford Avenue, just north of Terminal Island, in Wilmington, CA.

You'll find it just west of the Henry Ford bridge, where the Dominguez Channel passes under Henry Ford Avenue. In fact, from aerial maps, it appears that the marina is actually in the Dominguez Channel, just SW of the intersection of E. Anaheim Street and Henry Ford Ave.

While most marinas tend to be in upscale areas, working-class Leeward is lost in an isolated, industrial area on the Long Beach/Wilmington border. The boats it houses tend to be older ones, often with live-aboard owners.

It's a gritty, colorful place, where (according to one L.A. Times report), you can get "a corn dog, a tasty slice of pumpkin pie and a cup of coffee for $4.80." It's a place where the restrooms are marked “Inboards” and “Outboards.”

The original barge that now houses the Chowder Barge was reportedly built in 1934 as an on-location commissary during the filming of the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty" (starring Clark Gable & Charles Laughton).

Over the years, it has reportedly been, and I quote, "a floating brothel, a houseboat, a machine shop, an art studio and an abandoned hulk". Since 1967, it's been run by a lady named "Miss Mary", a temperamental sort who serves as waitress, cook, clerk & cashier.

We've seen both this marina and this barge before. The marina showed up in Season 2, when Debra and Lundy came here hunting the Bay Harbor Butcher.

And the Chowder Barge showed up in the same season, in a scene where Dexter & Debra were grabbing lunch at a coffee bar.

And here they both are again, five years later.

I'm not sure about the interior of the Marina Master's office -- that might have just been a studio set.

But the exterior was definitely the Chowder Barge.  Take a look:


Here is a screencap of the "Marina Master's Office""



    And here is a photo of the Chowder Barge, from their website:



Here is an aerial photo of the marina and barge.  Here is a Google StreetView.
  And here is a map link.


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

    A.  I did a page about the Chowder Barge five years ago, and I simply recognized it when I saw it again.


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