Family Arcade LA is a retro video arcade on North Vermont Avenue in East Hollywood, Los Angeles. The arcade is packed with classic machines, glowing screens and narrow aisles, giving it the look of an older neighbourhood arcade rather than a modern entertainment centre. Its dense, colourful interior makes it a strong period location for a series set in the early 1990s, where real arcade cabinets and neon-lit game rooms help create a convincing atmosphere.
In Dexter: Original Sin (2024–2025), Family Arcade LA appears in episode 9, “Blood Drive”. Dexter lures Captain Aaron Spencer to the arcade and has already transformed the location into one of his prepared kill rooms. The machines and parts of the interior are covered in plastic, turning the bright, playful arcade into something cold and controlled. Spencer is also wrapped in plastic while Dexter prepares to kill him, but Dexter Morgan has a second though after talking with Spencer.
An arcade is normally associated with youth, noise and entertainment, but Dexter strips it of that meaning by covering it in plastic and using it as a murder site. Since the series is set in Miami but filmed partly in Southern California, Family Arcade LA becomes another Los Angeles location reshaped into the show’s version of early-1990s Miami.
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.
Cahuenga Branch Library
Cahuenga Branch Library, a historic public library at in East Hollywood, has appeared in Carrie (1976) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery appeared in The Player, Charmed, The Prestige, Dexter, 90210, Valentine’s Day, Under the Silver Lake, Bosch: Legacy and MaXXXine.
The MacArthur
The MacArthur has been used in a large number of films, with its lobby, ballrooms, rooms, exterior and restrooms appearing in films across several decades.
The Shelley
The Shelley appears in Seinfeld (1989–1998). In the series, it serves as the exterior of Jerry’s apartment, even though the character’s address is in Manhattan.
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is in Rebel Without a Cause, Midnight Madness, The Terminator, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, La La Land, Transformers, and many more.
Hollywood Tower Apartments
Hollywood Tower Apartments, also known simply as Hollywood Tower, is a historic apartment building at 6200 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood, Los Angeles,…
Foster’s Freeze Atwater Village
Foster’s Freeze in Atwater Village, Los Angeles, has appeared in both "Pulp Fiction" (1994) and "GLOW" (2017–2019).
Westin Bonaventure Hotel
Westin Bonaventure Hotel has appeared in The Driver, Heaven Can Wait, Midnight Madness, Blue Thunder, Breathless, This is Spinal Tap, Rain Man 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.