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  • Michael C. Hall in a dark suit, head turned, half smilingDec 2008
  • James Remar and Jennifer Carpenter side by side at a press tableJul 2010
  • Michael C. Hall in a grey jacket, hands clasped on a table, looking past the cameraJul 2009
  • Jennifer Carpenter smiling at a panel microphoneJul 2013

Clear sheeting, taped photographs, a Miami morning behind.

The show says Miami. The pilot mostly meant it; the next seven seasons meant Long Beach. Run the morning routine, test the palms and file the real places on glass.

Taped up: Michael C. Hall in Los Angeles, December 2008, after season three. Kristin Dos Santos, CC BY-SA 2.0 · James Remar and Jennifer Carpenter at Comic-Con, July 2010. Kristin Dos Santos, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Michael C. Hall in the Dexter press room, Comic-Con, July 2009. Kristin Dos Santos, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jennifer Carpenter at San Diego Comic-Con, July 2013. Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0. Behind: Ocean Drive, South Beach, August 2025: the Crescent’s sign is on the left. Phillip Pessar, CC BY 4.0.

07:00 · the routine

Before work,
a little Miami.

Season one really went to Miami: an Ocean Drive sign, a downtown fountain, a neon hotel. Pick a ritual, finish it, and the place comes through.

Pastel Art Deco hotels along Ocean Drive under a blue sky, the Crescent sign on the left
Ocean Drive, South Beach, August 2025: the Crescent’s sign is on the left. Phillip Pessar · CC BY 4.0

Drag the razor across the foam.

1420 Ocean Dr, South Beach, Miami Beach

The Crescent, Ocean Drive

The series opens with Dexter driving down Ocean Drive past blurred neon, and one sign stands out: the Crescent, at 1420 Ocean Drive. Ocean Drive is a backdrop throughout the series, mostly in season one.

Walk Ocean Drive and look for the sign; the building is a working resort.

Evidence
Miami Design Preservation League

Art Deco Walking Tour

1001 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach · $50 adults (18–64)

Two hours and about a mile and a half on foot through the Art Deco district, daily from the Art Deco Welcome Center. Not a Dexter tour, but it walks the Ocean Drive of the opening titles.

Book the walk

11:00 · field test

Miami or
Long Beach?

Six palms, six places. Say which coast each one grew on.

Evidence on the switch
Palm trees and beach chairs on a small bayside beach in Miami
Bayfront Park’s little beach on Biscayne Bay, December 2010. Daderot · Public domain
Sample 1 of 6

Look at the palms. Which coast?

0 right so far

14:00 · follow the crew

Follow the
yellow signs.

Crews found each Long Beach set by yellow signs reading “Slice”, the show’s code name, after Dexter’s boat. Swing a sign and go where it points.

Sign points to Alamitos Bay (the Slice of Life’s water).

An aerial view of Alamitos Bay’s marinas and channels in Long Beach
Alamitos Bay from the air, Long Beach, April 2026. Don Ramey Logan · CC BY 4.0

Alamitos Bay Marina, East Long Beach

Alamitos Bay (the Slice of Life’s water)

Dexter’s boat, the Slice of Life, is moored in Miami on screen but was really in Long Beach. “Slice” was the crews’ code name: yellow signs with the word sent them to base camp. In July 2024 Tim Grobaty spotted a new one on Second Street pointing towards Alamitos Bay Marina. Alamitos Bay is among the dozens of Long Beach locations the show used from 2006 to 2013.

Public marina walkways and a beach; the boats are private, so admire from the dock.

Evidence
The Queen Mary

The Queen Mary

1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach

A hotel aboard the liner Queen Mary, moored in Long Beach, with staterooms and suites. Not a filming location.

Check rooms

17:00 · the bench

One slide
per place.

Fourteen glass slides, filed by where they really are. Lay one on the light box. The frosted one is somebody’s home.

DX-01 · 301 Biscayne Blvd, Downtown Miami

A round tiled fountain in Bayfront Park with downtown Miami towers behind
The Pepper Fountain in Bayfront Park, December 2010. Daderot · Public domain

Pepper Fountain, Bayfront Park

The Pepper Fountain in Bayfront Park is a pilot-episode location: the Ice Truck Killer’s second crime scene, with the police tape laid round in the shape of the fountain. Dexter and Rita’s Friday night out, cracking crab, was also shot at Bayfront Park by Bayside. Miami’s visitor bureau says the fountain has had a big upgrade since its Dexter days.

A public park on Biscayne Bay. The fountain is at the Chopin Plaza end; check the park’s calendar, as big events close parts of it.

Evidence

19:00 · back at the station

A dozen for
the station.

Well, five. Each one is a person or a studio. Take one.

Michael C. Hall · Comic-Con · 2013
Michael C. Hall smiling at a panel microphone
Michael C. Hall at San Diego Comic-Con, July 2013. Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.0

Michael C. Hall. 4 left in the box.

Evidence on the later series
An aerial view of Shelburne Falls, its river and iron truss bridge in autumn
Shelburne Falls from the air in October 2021, with the iron bridge on Bridge Street. King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0

2021 · up north

Snow in
April.

Shelburne Falls in April. Dress it as Iron Lake, New York.

Evidence on Iron Lake
A small-town main street of brick shopfronts with wooded hills behind
Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls, June 2008. John Phelan · CC BY 3.0

Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts

Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls (Iron Lake)

Shelburne Falls is the downtown of Dexter: New Blood’s fictional Iron Lake, New York, and Jim Lindsay’s Fred’s Fish and Game is there. Fred’s Fish and Game was shot inside the Bridge Street Bazaar, and the trailer has Michael C. Hall walking Bridge Street. In April 2021 the crew dressed the village for winter for two weeks, with heaps of fake snow, wreaths on doors and lights on trees, then gave the holiday props to the town and upgraded the lamp-post garlands.

Park and walk it: the iron bridge, the shops and the Bridge of Flowers are all within a few minutes.

Evidence
A green-painted corner shop with cars parked outside
McCusker’s Market on State Street, Shelburne Falls, June 2008. John Phelan · CC BY 4.0

3 State St, Shelburne Falls (Buckland side)

McCusker’s Market

In April 2021 a New Blood Steadicam operator shot a scene at McCusker’s Market in Shelburne Falls.

A working village market on the Buckland side of the river: go in and shop.

Evidence
A roadside diner with a red neon sign at dusk
Whately Diner, Route 5 and 10, October 2017. Artaxerxes · CC BY-SA 4.0

372 State Rd (Routes 5 and 10), Whately

Whately Diner

New Blood spent its last week in the area at the Whately Diner: closed to the public from 1 May 2021 for five weekdays of filming, while the fuel pumps and truck park stayed open. The crew filmed in 65 different Massachusetts municipalities, according to Showtime’s supervising location manager.

A working truck-stop diner on Routes 5 and 10. Order something.

Evidence
Blooming Inn

Blooming Inn Shelburne Falls

Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts

A Victorian house of 1852, once the Dancing Bear Guest House, with seven rooms and suites and a five-minute walk to the Bridge of Flowers. Not a filming location. Pictured: the Bridge of Flowers.

Check rooms

Clean bench.

13 places to visit, from a fountain on Biscayne Bay to a diner on Route 5. The Bay Harbor Club stays off the map.

Evidence
Visitors on a flower-lined footbridge beside an iron truss bridge
The Bridge of Flowers beside the iron bridge, June 2026. Marty Aligata · CC BY-SA 4.0

Where it is now

13 places you can visit, in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Long Beach, Franklin County, Massachusetts and Manhattan. Dexter’s apartment building is named on this page and pinned nowhere.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public park on Biscayne Bay. The fountain is at the Chopin Plaza end; check the park’s calendar, as big events close parts of it.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Walk Ocean Drive and look for the sign; the building is a working resort.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. See the blue neon from the Ocean Drive pavement; best after dark.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open daily, 7am to 10pm. Two museums, lawns and the bay walk; no pumpkin patch.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public beach park up the coast from Miami.

  1. A round tiled fountain in Bayfront Park with downtown Miami towers behind
    The Pepper Fountain in Bayfront Park, December 2010. Daderot · Public domain

    301 Biscayne Blvd, Downtown Miami

    Pepper Fountain, Bayfront Park

    The Pepper Fountain in Bayfront Park is a pilot-episode location: the Ice Truck Killer’s second crime scene, with the police tape laid round in the shape of the fountain.

    A public park on Biscayne Bay. The fountain is at the Chopin Plaza end; check the park’s calendar, as big events close parts of it.

    Evidence
  2. Pastel Art Deco hotels along Ocean Drive under a blue sky, the Crescent sign on the left
    Ocean Drive, South Beach, August 2025: the Crescent’s sign is on the left. Phillip Pessar · CC BY 4.0

    1420 Ocean Dr, South Beach, Miami Beach

    The Crescent, Ocean Drive

    The series opens with Dexter driving down Ocean Drive past blurred neon, and one sign stands out: the Crescent, at 1420 Ocean Drive.

    Walk Ocean Drive and look for the sign; the building is a working resort.

    Evidence
  3. The Colony Hotel’s vertical blue neon sign at night on Ocean Drive
    The Colony Hotel’s blue neon, Ocean Drive, March 2013. Marcus · CC BY-SA 2.0

    736 Ocean Dr, South Beach, Miami Beach

    The Colony Hotel

    When Debra finds the Ice Truck Killer’s truck, it is parked across the street from the Colony Hotel on Ocean Drive.

    See the blue neon from the Ocean Drive pavement; best after dark.

    Evidence
  4. An aerial view of a bayfront park beside downtown Miami and the port
    Bicentennial Park, now Museum Park, from above in June 2014. AuntieMamesTravels · CC BY-SA 4.0

    1075 Biscayne Blvd, Downtown Miami

    Maurice A. Ferré Park (once Bicentennial Park)

    Dexter’s memory of a pumpkin patch and hayride with his dad and sister was shot at Bicentennial Park, 1075 Biscayne Boulevard, the only place with that view of the Miami skyline.

    Open daily, 7am to 10pm. Two museums, lawns and the bay walk; no pumpkin patch.

    Evidence
  5. Palms and a beach crossing on Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard
    Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, September 2019. U+1F360 · CC BY-SA 4.0

    1100 Seabreeze Blvd, Fort Lauderdale

    Fort Lauderdale Beach Park (“Rand Beach”)

    In season one, episode four, the Ice Truck Killer recreates a childhood photograph of Dexter on “Rand Beach”, later “Petrie Beach”; in reality it is Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, 1100 Seabreeze Boulevard.

    A public beach park up the coast from Miami.

    Evidence

Stay

Two nights, two coasts.

A Victorian inn by the Bridge of Flowers, and a liner moored in Long Beach. Neither is a filming location.

Blooming Inn

Blooming Inn Shelburne Falls

Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts

A Victorian house of 1852, once the Dancing Bear Guest House, with seven rooms and suites and a five-minute walk to the Bridge of Flowers. Not a filming location. Pictured: the Bridge of Flowers.

Check rooms
The Queen Mary

The Queen Mary

1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach

A hotel aboard the liner Queen Mary, moored in Long Beach, with staterooms and suites. Not a filming location.

Check rooms

Walk it

Ocean Drive on foot.

The preservation league’s Art Deco walk passes the opening drive and the ice-truck block; or compare the marketplace.

Miami Design Preservation League

Art Deco Walking Tour

1001 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach · $50 adults (18–64)

Two hours and about a mile and a half on foot through the Art Deco district, daily from the Art Deco Welcome Center. Not a Dexter tour, but it walks the Ocean Drive of the opening titles.

Book the walk
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Tours of Miami Beach

Miami Beach

Live marketplace results for South Beach and Art Deco tours. Check each itinerary for Ocean Drive.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

Flight and lights.

Home-made flying machines in Bayfront Park, and a parade of lights on Bridge Street. Neither is about the show.

Checking current event dates…

Take it home

The book and the music.

Jeff Lindsay’s novel and two seasons of Daniel Licht’s music on CD.

Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Jeff Lindsay

Jeff Lindsay’s novel, first published by Doubleday in 2004; this is the 2006 Vintage paperback.

Find the book
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Dexter: Season 4: Music From the Showtime Original Series

Daniel Licht · CD, 2010

Music from season four, credited to Daniel Licht, on CD (Milan).

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Dexter: Season 8: Music From the Showtime Original Series

Daniel Licht · CD, 2014

The final season’s music on CD.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The evidence locker

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

14 of 14 places · 14 of 14 Moments

  • Pepper Fountain, Bayfront Park

    301 Biscayne Blvd, Downtown Miami

    • Tape round the fountain

      The pilot’s second crime scene, police tape following the fountain’s curve.

  • The Crescent, Ocean Drive

    1420 Ocean Dr, South Beach, Miami Beach

    • The drive

      Dexter drives Ocean Drive past the Crescent’s sign.

  • The Colony Hotel

    736 Ocean Dr, South Beach, Miami Beach

    • The ice truck

      Debra finds the truck parked across from the Colony.

  • Maurice A. Ferré Park (once Bicentennial Park)

    1075 Biscayne Blvd, Downtown Miami

    • The pumpkin patch

      A family memory with the downtown skyline behind.

  • Fort Lauderdale Beach Park (“Rand Beach”)

    1100 Seabreeze Blvd, Fort Lauderdale

    • Rand Beach

      A childhood photograph recreated on Fort Lauderdale’s beach.

  • Bay Harbor Club (Dexter’s apartment)

    103rd Street, Bay Harbor Islands

    • Palm Terrace

      The apartment’s exterior, with a replica built in Los Angeles.

  • Sunset Gower Studios

    1438 N Gower St, Hollywood, Los Angeles

    • The studio

      After the first few episodes, the show is made around Hollywood and Long Beach.

  • Alamitos Bay (the Slice of Life’s water)

    Alamitos Bay Marina, East Long Beach

    • Slice of Life

      The boat’s home water, and the crews’ yellow “Slice” signs.

  • El Dorado Park

    East Long Beach

    • El Dorado

      A Long Beach park in the show’s Miami.

  • Broadway and Linden (Original Sin’s 1991 Miami Beach)

    East Broadway at Linden Avenue, Downtown Long Beach

    • Olas y Ritmo

      A Downtown corner dressed as 1991 Miami Beach.

  • Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls (Iron Lake)

    Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts

    • Iron Lake

      The village plays Iron Lake, New York, under fake snow in April.

  • McCusker’s Market

    3 State St, Shelburne Falls (Buckland side)

    • The market

      A Steadicam scene in the village market.

  • Whately Diner

    372 State Rd (Routes 5 and 10), Whately

    • The diner

      A week of filming at a truck-stop diner.

  • Sunset Pier 94 Studios

    Pier 94, Hudson River Park, Manhattan

    • Resurrection

      Season two moves onto a new Hudson pier studio.

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