Q. What is it supposed to be on the show? A. The old fuel docks at Bayfront Park. Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show? A. In Miami. Q. When did we see it on the show? A. In Episode 11, of Season 5, "Hop a Freighter". Dexter has been abducted by Stan Liddy, tasered, tied up, and thrown into the back of Liddy's van. When the van stops, it's at the edge of a dock. Liddy phones Quinn and tells him to come there, that he needs him to make an arrest. Quinn is reluctant, but Liddy finally badgers him into it. Meanwhile, Liddy turns to Dexter and shows him a video recording he made of Dexter training Lumen how to use a knife to kill someone. He tells Dexter that because he obtained the recordings illegally, he needs to exact a confession from Dexter. But before Liddy can do much more. Dexter kicks him in the face and slips out of his bonds. Liddy pulls a knife, but Dexter overpowers him and stabs him in the chest with his own blade. Just then, Quinn arrives on the scene, expecting to find Liddy.  He tries the van doors, then leaves an angry phone message to Liddy. Once Quinn is gone, Dexter gathers up the evidence and throws it in the ocean. Dexter listens to a message from Lumen, and learns that she's in danger at Emily's house, so he leaves Stan Liddy's body in the van and hurries to rescue her. In the season finale (Episode 12, "The Big One"), the focus returns to this dock, as we see Debra and the Miami police arrive on the murder scene, via a police boat, where they have found Stan Liddy's body in his van. While there, LaGuerta spots the drop of (Liddy's) blood on Quinn's shoe, and when Quinn can't come up with a quick explanation, she has him taken in for quesioning. Dexter, meanwhile, gets a call letting him know the whereabouts of Chase & Lumen, so he takes off to go rescue her.

Q. What is it actually in real life?

A. The end of a dock - but not in Miami.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. This dock is right next door to the warehouse where Trinity forced a female victim to jump to her death.

The dock, and those distinctive towers, are just past (south of) the historic Warehouse #1, at the far south end of Signal Street, in San Pedro, CA.

That's the same warehouse where they also filmed an earlier scene of young Dexter seemingly about to jump from the roof.

It's just a short drive south of Ports O'Call Village, and east of the Cabrillo Marina.

I'm not sure if the towers are some kind of antennas, watch towers, lighthouses, or what... But there they are. In the water, just a few yards off of the end of the dock.



I shot this photo of the warehouse in 2009. In the blow-up, in the circle, you can see
the unique antenna tower from that scene - just past the warehouse.


I shot the photos below in December 2010:



Be warned that there is No Trespassing allowed in this spot.  I missed the sign, and had no more set
foot here when a guard appeared and warned me to leave. Fortunately, I managed to squeeze off
this single photo of the towers before that happened.  (The camera is looking south.)

I shot the photo below from my car, at a distance. The camera is looking southwest,
towards what appears to be a small mountain of coal, at the end of another nearby dock.




Here is an aerial photo of the dock & towers. And here is a map link.

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

A.  I had learned that they were filming somewhere in the area around 22nd Street & Signal in San Pedro, so I headed down to that intersection, but saw nothing there.

I drove in each direction from that intersection, until I finally headed south and found those familiar white studio trucks parked down next to (what I'll always think of as) Trinity's warehouse.


At the time, I wasn't sure exactly what they were filming there. But it went on my list, and I kept an eye out for it. To be honest, I expected the warehouse itself to show up again, not just the nearby dock - so I was in for a surprise.

Once the 11th episode aired, and I began my hunt for the fuel docks, the warehouse dock was one of the places I looked. What I was looking for, of course, were those two distinct towers in the water just off the dock - they look like some kind of broadcasting antennas. And sure enough, when I took a close look at that warehouse dock (with Bing aerial photos), I spotted those two unique towers just off shore.