Terra cotta bank towers from the 1920s line Flagler Street, and Bad Boys used the county courthouse as its police station.
What Downtown Miami looks like
runs through downtown as the main commercial spine, lined with terra cotta and cast stone office and bank buildings from the 1920s. The rises 28 storeys over West Flagler Street at NW 1st Avenue, a stepped tower with a pyramid roof above rows of narrow windows. The stands a few blocks east, its black granite storefront base and green awnings under a stone tower with fluted corner piers.
An elevated concrete guideway loops over several blocks, carrying small automated Metromover trains past the office towers at window height, free to board. Below it the streets form a dense grid centered on Flagler Street, with newer glass curtain wall towers rising directly behind the 1920s blocks. The keeps its narrow stone piers and red framed windows over ground floor storefronts on East Flagler Street, one of several low rise buildings still standing between the newer construction.
Farther toward the water, high rise office and condominium towers crowd the shoreline of , their glass faces catching the water and the sky. On the side of downtown, balcony fronted residential towers line a palm planted riverwalk, with yachts and small boats moored along the docks.
Shot in Downtown Miami
Bad Boys used the Miami-Dade County Courthouse as the exterior of its police station and also filmed at the Alfred I. DuPont Building, both on Flagler Street. The DuPont Building has hosted the NBC series Miami Vice as well.
Bad Boys, 1995
The Miami-Dade County Courthouse
Bad Boys used the Miami-Dade County Courthouse as the exterior of the police station where detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett are based. The 1928 tower's terra cotta base and columned entrance on West Flagler Street are what the film shows. Street View
Bad Boys, 1995
The Alfred I. DuPont Building
Bad Boys and the NBC series Miami Vice were both filmed at the Alfred I. DuPont Building. Its black granite storefront base and green fabric awnings face East Flagler Street, under a stone tower with fluted piers at its corners. Street View
LaSalle Street's terra cotta bank towers share downtown Miami's mix of civic scaled masonry and narrow upper floor windows, and the elevated 'L' tracks loop over the street the way the Metromover guideway loops over Flagler Street. Both put a train in the frame at window height against a dense grid of early twentieth century office buildings. Chicago's elevated structure is riveted steel rather than the Metromover's smooth concrete. Its trains also run louder and more often, so a tight shot of the guideway itself needs care. Try searching terra cotta bank towers now.
Spring Street Historic District in Los Angeles, California
Spring Street's early twentieth century bank and office buildings carry the same terra cotta and cast stone civic fronts as Flagler Street, with ornate stone piers rising over ground floor storefronts. The block scale and window rhythm are close enough to work for a 1920s or 1930s financial district exterior. Spring Street has no elevated transit line and its buildings run taller and closer together in wide shots, so keep the frame tight to the facades. Try searching terra cotta office buildings now.
Downtown Tampa in Tampa, Florida
Franklin Street's 1920s bank and office buildings rose in the same Florida land boom as downtown Miami's, in a similar run of pale stone and terra cotta fronts. Downtown Tampa has no equivalent of the Metromover guideway and its blocks run lower overall, so it only holds up in tighter street level shots. Try searching terra cotta bank buildings now.
.jpg)
