A Second Street shopping strip a block from a calm bay beach.
What Belmont Shore looks like
Second Street runs about fourteen blocks between Livingston Drive and the bridge into Naples, its storefronts set close together at the curb. Mexican fan palms line a planted median down the middle of the street, and traffic signals hang from mast arms over the crosswalks.
The Liquor Locker's red sign and a cleaners anchor the corner at Glendora Avenue, with small independent shops filling out the rest of the block. A Verizon Wireless dealer sits among the storefronts a few blocks down at Corona Avenue, and near Roycroft Avenue roasts its own beans on site.
Side streets crossing Second Street carry names like Corona, Covina and Claremont, lined with one and two story Spanish style bungalows set close together on narrow lots. The firehouse, a brick building with arched doorways and a tile roof, stands at Second Street and Claremont Avenue and dates from 1929.
The beach sits inside the Long Beach breakwater, so the water stays calmer than the open coast and draws kitesurfers and kayakers more than swimmers. , an off leash stretch of sand south of Ocean Boulevard between Granada and Roycroft avenues, sits toward the western end. Toward , Bay Shore Avenue meets the water at a corner known locally as , where production crews have closed the street for filming.
Shot in Belmont Shore
The Showtime series Dexter shot repeatedly in Belmont Shore during its 2006 to 2013 run, using the neighborhood along with other parts of Long Beach to play Miami. Crews returned to spots along the water each season, blocking off streets and painting fixtures to match the show's Florida palette.
Dexter, 2006 to 2013
Horny Corner
Played Miami, Florida, present day
The production closed Bay Shore Avenue to traffic for a 2013 shoot at Horny Corner, where the street meets Alamitos Bay. Crews also worked at the Belmont Shore dog beach and its Granada Avenue parking lot the same year, painting a lifeguard stand and a beach concession stand's fence in bright colors to match the show's Miami palette. Over the show's run, Dexter also used the Claremont Avenue boat launch and a house on Pomona Avenue.
What Belmont Shore can double for
Main Street in Seal Beach, California
Main Street runs three blocks from Pacific Coast Highway to the Seal Beach Pier, with palm trees and pastel storefronts at a scale close to Second Street. The strip ends directly at the pier, so a wide shot down the block reads shorter than Belmont Shore's own run. Keep the pier out of frame in wider shots, since Second Street has no pier at its own end. Try searching pastel storefronts close to pier now.
Corona del Mar in Newport Beach, California
Pacific Coast Highway through Corona del Mar runs past closely spaced storefronts under Mediterranean arches and tile roofs, the same low commercial scale as Second Street. Shops sit right against the sidewalk with striped awnings, similar to Belmont Shore's own frontages. Pacific Coast Highway itself is a wider, faster road than Second Street, so a shot needs to stay tight on the sidewalk to avoid the through traffic. Try searching storefronts under Mediterranean arches now.
Marine Avenue in Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California
Marine Avenue crosses Balboa Island in a few short blocks of coastal cottage shopfronts, boutiques and small restaurants packed close together near the water. The scale is intimate rather than a long commercial run, closer to a couple of Belmont Shore's own blocks than the whole strip. Frame tightly on Marine Avenue itself. Wider shots reveal the island's small size and the bay on both sides, which Second Street does not have. Try searching coastal cottage shopfronts Marine Avenue now.
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