That Time I Checked Out Some Burn Notice Filming Locations

I’ve always been That Nerd who’s curious about checking out filming locations. There’s just something about seeing a place from your favorite show or movie in person. Of course it’s funny too because of the movie magic that goes into making something look legit. I enjoy doing the online research as well. It’s fun to see if other fans have had any luck finding spots, or if a location isn’t actually accessible, or maybe there’s a sound stage hiding out at an old expo center.

This trip goes way back to 2009. I’m pretty sure all the photos were taken with a digital camera and not a cell phone. That alone has me feeling old and not in a good way. The TV show “Burn Notice” was enjoying its third season on the USA Network and it was a show I loved. If you’ve never watched it, do yourself a favor and check it out on Amazon Prime Video. I’m doing a rewatch now and I can’t believe I forgot just how perfect this show was. In December of that year I decided I wanted to head to Miami and check out some locations. This wasn’t my first time there, as I had been to the area before for Nsync events. I know, there’s a lot of nostalgia happening in this post. My friends Manda and Mel came along for the ride and we were able to find a few spots pretty easily! Now, like I said, these photos are from 2009 and well, the quality isn’t fantastic.

If I had to pick a location that most fans are familiar with, it’s probably these stairs. You see them in the opening credits and they were in the Pilot episode. The stairs can be found at Bay Front Park in Downtown Miami. And another note, I’m not sure what’s still around and what’s not. I’ll do my best to post updated information about the locations.

Since the show did film on location in Miami/South Beach, a lot of the hotels on the strip show up. The Hotel Victor was in Episode 8 along with The Carlyle. The Beacon Hotel was part of the Pilot episode after he’s dumped in Miami after being burned.

The main location I wanted to find was The Loft. Now, two different locations were used for this. The exterior shots were at one location, and the entrance/stairs at another. The later was filmed at the Coconut Grove Convention Center. The show took over the no longer used spot for their sets and filming. While I wanted to get out of the car and try and explore more, Melinda didn’t think it was a great idea.

I believe the building used for the exterior shots is no longer there. It was demolished and a new building now stands. The convention center was demolished in 2013 to make way for a new park after “Burn Notice” wrapped up their final season. Honestly, they would have probably saved money if they just had let Fiona blow it up with some C4. I have a bunch of photos of some fancy houses from boat tours that were probably used for filming purposes but honestly, that’s way too hard to track down.

So there you have it! One of my first trips into checking out and exploring random filming locations. I honestly wish I could go back and visit some of these locations again and get better photos but that’s not possible. Instead I’ll just remember that time Melinda yelled at me to stay in the car and not climb over a fence into an off limits area. I mean, what could have possibly gone wrong?