City National Bank Building is an office building at 11 Golden Shore in Long Beach, California, close to the city’s waterfront and downtown area. With its clean corporate façade, palm-lined surroundings and Southern California light, the building can easily pass for a modern police or government building in a warmer coastal city. This has made it useful for productions set outside California, especially when Long Beach is used to double for Miami.
In Dexter: Original Sin (2024–2025), City National Bank Building is used as the exterior of Miami Metro Police headquarters. The building appears repeatedly whenever the series returns to the police department where Harry Morgan works and where the young Dexter begins to move closer to the world of crime investigation. Although the story is set in Miami, the Long Beach location gives the headquarters a believable coastal-city look without needing to show much of the surrounding area.
The building works well for the series because it is neutral enough to become a fictional police headquarters, but still has a strong exterior identity. Its position near the waterfront also helps sell the Miami illusion, fitting the show’s sunlit version of the city while keeping production in Southern California. Interior scenes for Miami Metro may have been filmed elsewhere or on sets, but the façade at 11 Golden Shore functions as the recurring visual marker for the department.
Dexter: Original Sin
Dexter: Original Sin is set in Miami, the production follows the same pattern as the original Dexter by combining Florida material with California stand-ins.
Hotel Saddleback
Hotel Saddleback is best known from National Lampoon’s Vacation, where is was used for the hotel pool scene with Clark Griswold and the woman in the Ferrari.
Hermosa Beach Community Center
Hermosa Beach Community Center was used as part of Bates High School in the Stephen King classic horror movie Carrie from 1976.
Tavern on Main
In 8 Million Ways to Die, Tavern on Main is used as The Keg Bar. The exterior of the bar is shown on Main Street, with Scudder’s apartment located behind it.
Whittier High School
Whittier High School is best known from "Back to the Future" (1985) and "Back to the Future Part II" (1989), where it appears as Hill Valley High School.
Pann’s Restaurant
Pann’s Restaurant has appeared in several films and television productions, like xXx, Bewitched, Next and the TV series Based on a True Story.
Sam’s Hofbrau
Sam’s Hofbrau is best known from Quentin Tarantino’s "Jackie Brown" (1997) and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" (2004). In both films, the location is used as a strip club.
The Mayan
The Mayan has appeared in many films and television productions, including Sally of the Scandals, Refinements in Love, Save the Tiger and many more.
Millennium Biltmore Hotel
The Millennium Biltmore Hotel has appeared in many films, including The Omega Man, Chinatown, Rocky III, Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters and many more.
Westin Bonaventure Hotel
Westin Bonaventure Hotel has appeared in a long list of films and television productions, including The Driver (1978), Heaven Can Wait (1978) and many more.
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