A. A residential home.

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

A. In a modest residential neighborhood, in Miami, Florida.

Q. When did we see it on the show?

A. It is the home of 'Rita Bennett' (played by Julie Benz), Dexter's girlfriend, and her two children.

Dexter is an emotionally stunted serial killer, who doesn't really understand love or normal human relationships, so to maintain the illusion of normalcy, he deliberately chooses Rita as his pretend girlfriend (because Rita was also reluctant to engage in sex, following her breakup with an abusive husband).

Eventually, Dexter is surprised to see the relationship become more than he expected.

We see Rita's home in almost every episode of Season One, beginning with Episode 1, "Dexter" . It also shows up frequently in both Season Two and Season Three, until the two are finally married and move into a new home in Season 4.

It is where Dexter spends most of his spare time (when he's not working for the police department or killing someone). It's where he hangs out with Rita, where he plays with her two children, and where he encounters her hostile ex-husband, Paul.

It's also where Paul tries to rape Rita later in the season, and where Dexter whacks him over the head with a skillet.

Q. What is it actually in real life?

A. An actual house, but far from Miami.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. The house is actually at 2348 San Anseline Avenue, in Long Beach, California. It's on the east side of San Anseline (midway between 23rd Street & Vernon Street), in a residential neighborhood known as 'Los Altos'.

It's hard to see the left side of the house on the show, because the producers put up a fake, salmon-colored, block wall in front, along with some palm trees & extra  foliage. The house looks slightly different in person, since that block wall and those palms aren't really there.


I shot the photo below in Dec. 2007


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


The majority of location filming for "Dexter" is done in Long Beach.

This Los Altos neighborhood contains at least six different homes used on the TV show, including Dexter's childhood home, Angel's house, the house of the neighbor with the noisy dog, the Dade City house that Dexter inherits from his biological father, and the house of the old lady across the street.

It's also close to the intersection where the "Ice Truck Killer" stopped his car to check on his captive (Debra) in the car trunk.

The neighborhood is located just south of the San Diego (405) Freeway, and just east of Bellflower Blvd (and north of 23rd Street), in upper Long Beach.

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

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

A. Back in 2006, my friend, Long Beach Press-Telegram columnist Tim Grobaty, mentioned in his daily column that Showtime was filming a new show called "Dexter" in Long Beach, on San Anseline Ave. So, once I began looking for Rita's house, I naturally started my search on San Anseline. To make it even easier, the street number of the house next door was visible during the scene with nasty neighbor.
So it was just a matter of checking LiveLocal maps & aerial photos to pinpoint the exact house on the block, and then a trip to the neighborhood in person to verify that I had the right place.  (Thanks, Tim.)