A. The First Care Pharmacy (housed in a larger medical building).

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 2 (of Season 4), "Remains To Be Seen ".



In the previous episode, Dexter had killed former boxer Benito Gomez, and put his body parts in a bag.

But following a bad traffic accident on the way home, Dexter finds himself unable to remember where he put the bag.

Desperate to find the dismembered body before someone else does, he tries to retrace his steps from the night before.

But the only thing he can remember is that he stopped at a pharmacy, at the request of Rita, to buy medicine for their new baby, who had an ear ache.



So Dexter goes back to the "First Care Pharmacy" and looks around. He spots a large trash dumpster and, on the chance that he might have temporarily stashed the body there, jumps inside the dumpster and checks.

But the body isn't there.

Q. What is it actually in real life?

A. Part of a hotel.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. This round building, with a tropical/Polynesian look, is actually part of the Marina Del Rey Hotel, at 13534 Bali Way, in Marina del Rey.

That's at the far west end of Bali Way

The round building seen here is located at the southeast end of the hotel, on the left side of the road as you drive in, and it doesn't look much like the rest of the hotel.

Since it also doesn't look much like a drug store, I have to assume that they shot the pharmacy scene here simply because it was convenient. This is the same hotel where they filmed two other locations this 4th season: the Reef Hotel (where Dexter catches Quinn taking money during a murder investigation) and the Bluewater Hotel (where Lundy & Debra were shot).

It's about a mile west of Zoey Kruger's home.


And back in the first season the same hotel was used for the memorable room-filled-with-blood scenes.




I shot the photos below in November 2009.








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

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

A.  This was pure, unadulterated good luck.

I had guessed that the pharmacy was probably in Marina Del Rey, from the background, but try as I might, I couldn't spot it on aerial maps. In the scene, it wasn't obvious that the building was round. If I had realized it was round, I would have found it in no time. Instead, I focused on the tropical vegetation and those unique arches, looking mainly around Admiralty Way, on the assumption that it was probably a Polynesian restaurant like Trader Vics or the Warehouse. But it wasn't.

Later, I went to the Marina Del Rey Hotel to shoot photos of what I assumed was a completely different location: Lundy's Bluewater Hotel.


But on my way out, just where the hotel's exit road reunites with Bali Way, I chanced to look to my right and spotted a lot of tropical foliage and one of those unusual Tiki-like arches. Wondering if this might be the pharmacy, I quickly parked and checked it out.  Sure enough. So I shot the photos you see above.