Basins of moored boats sit beneath mid and high rise apartment towers, with floating docks reaching every slip.
What Marina del Rey looks like
Eight boat basins fill the marina, separated by narrow strips of land with a loop road on each. A row of mid and high rise apartment towers faces every basin, balconies stacked in ranks above the water, with open parking lots beside the buildings rather than under them.
Floating docks run out from the seawalls in long finger piers, sailboats and motor yachts moored close together along both sides. tower on Admiralty Way rises twenty floors in glass and concrete, the tallest of several high rises added in the 2000s.
runs along Fiji Way in a row of brightly painted wood buildings, with a tall white lighthouse tower over the Lighthouse Fountain and Grill stand at one end. sits on its own stretch of shoreline nearby, cypress and Norfolk pine ringing a paved plaza with a brick memorial at its center.
Hotel towers stand along Admiralty Way above their own basin frontage, the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton both built with rooftop decks over the water. The loop roads circling each basin carry a steady flow of cars into the surface lots, boats and trailers sharing the same curb space as apartment residents.
Shot in Marina del Rey
The Cove tower at 13650 Marina Pointe Drive was the main location for the film Skyline. The rooftop of the hosted the press conference scene in the film Valentine's Day. The series Dexter used the as the fictional Marina View Hotel in its Miami set story. The series Jane the Virgin shot a poolside scene at the Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey. The series The Office filmed two episodes at Blue Pacific Boating, the marina's own yacht dealer, for a storyline about Andy Bernard buying a boat.
Arrested Development
Played Oceanside Wharf, Newport Beach, California, 2000s
The production renamed the pier Oceanside Wharf for the series and built the Bluth Company's banana stand next to the real lighthouse concession stand. The Marina Hornblower, the same cruise boat Booksmart later used for its yacht party, is visible docked behind it in the pilot episode.
Booksmart, 2019
The film shot its all night yacht party aboard the Marina Hornblower, docked at the same pier as the Arrested Development banana stand. The boat is a genuine sightseeing charter that still runs tours out of the marina.
No Strings Attached, 2011
The film shot walking scenes through the park, using its waterfront paths and open lawns for a relaxed Southern California setting. The park's own entrance sits off Mindanao Way, a few blocks from Fisherman's Village.
What Marina del Rey can double for
Coal Harbour in Vancouver, British Columbia
Coal Harbour's glass condo towers rise directly over their own marina basin, balconies stacked above the docks in the same relationship as Marina del Rey's towers. The mountains behind Vancouver's skyline give away the location in any wide shot facing north, so frame south toward the harbor to hold the illusion. Try searching glass towers over a marina now.
Aventura in Aventura, Florida
Aventura's marina towers rise in the same glass and concrete high rise style over their own docked yachts, with surface parking lots beside the buildings rather than under them. Florida's flatter, denser palm planting and the wider Intracoastal water are the tells in an aerial shot; tighter frames on the docks hold the match better. Try searching marina towers with yacht docks now.
King Harbor in Redondo Beach, California
King Harbor's basin has the same loop road and low apartment blocks around moored sailboats, though its buildings run three or four floors rather than Marina del Rey's high rises. Keep the taller towers out of frame or the height difference will show; a dockside level shot of the boat basin holds the comparison best. Try searching boat basin with apartment blocks now.
Puerto Banus in Marbella, Spain
Puerto Banus sits around a yacht basin lined with white multi story apartment blocks rising over the water, a similar scale to Marina del Rey's lower towers, though the architecture reads more Mediterranean than Southern Californian. Terracotta roof tiles and arched balconies are the giveaway in a wide shot; a tight frame on the docks and hulls holds the substitution. Try searching apartments over a yacht basin now.
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