Mac Miller's Guide to Pittsburgh

A most dope tour of the Iron City.

Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

A Most Dope tour of the Iron City.

This feature is a part of Complex's "Man of Next Year" Week.

If you grew up in Pittsburgh, your parents probably dragged you to Clayton, the palatial home of Henry Clay Frick, in the quiet neighborhood of Point Breeze. The boss of industry purchased the house in 1882, long before it would open its doors to the public as a museum.

One hundred and ten years later, in 1992, Mac Miller was born in Pittsburgh. He too would make his home in Point Breeze. These days fans flock to the Frick Park Market, the sandwich shop he popularized in his song of the same name.

Pittburgh is a strange place, more Midwestern in mentality than East Coast. Frankly, it’s a tough place to visit. You have to live there for some time to figure out the mess of streets that snake between and around the three rivers, streets that cut up the many neighborhoods, each with a distinctive community and culture.

If you don’t live there, you need someone to show you around. Even though he lives in L.A. now, Mac’s up for the job. So dress yourself in black and gold—you’ll stand out less—and check out Mac Miller’s Guide to Pittsburgh.

As told to Ross Scarano (@RossScarano)

RELATED: 25 Things You Didn't Know About Mac Miller

11. Point Breeze

Address: Map
Website: N/A
Mac Says: "I grew up in Point Breeze. The first time I ever smoked was there, at a homie's house. I actually got robbed, which was pretty awesome. I was maybe 10 years old, and so fucking high that I thought I was James Bond. I was running around the house, acting like a spy, and my friend's older brother comes home. He asks, 'How old are you?' And then he put me in a chokehold and took all of my shit. I was telling him, 'I'm in fifth grade, going on sixth grade. I'm ten-and-a-half.' Like, the upper side of 10, so you better treat me a little older."

10. Sterrett Middle School

Address: 7100 Reynolds St., Point Breeze
Website: pps.k12.pa.us/sterrett
Mac Says: "Sterrett is a middle school in Point Breeze that has an outdoor baseball field and basketball court. We used to chill there all the time. I was blessed enough to live right next to Frick Park—the Frick Park in Point Breeze, not the Squirrel Hill Frick. The Point Breeze park is basically a forest, which is tight.

"The middle school, the cemetery—those are the places that molded my childhood the most."

9. Homewood Cemetery

Address: 1599 South Dallas Ave., Point Breeze
Website: thehomewoodcemetery.com
Mac Says: "We used to hang out in the cemetery at night, when no one's there. In fourth grade, I remember going in there with shit to smoke, then trying to smoke it to see what would happen to us. I started smoking way before I started drinking."

8. Forbes and Murray

Address: Forbes Ave. and Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill
Website: N/A
Mac Says: "Man, all those times we aimlessly walked up and down the streets around Forbes and Murray—it was the thing to do. It isn't the thing now, but when I was younger, it felt like some 1950s shit. Everyone just knew to meet at Forbes and Murray. We wouldn't take public transportation to get there, either. We used to walk everywhere. If we could walk there in under two hours, we would. Or else you'd holler at the parents for a ride. Now, you can't say the word 'walk' to me.

"I love to drive, especially in Pittsburgh. Listening to music and driving around the city without needing GPS. I love flying into Pittsburgh, then driving back from the airport. You come through the Fort Pitt Tunnels—it's the best way to come home."

7. Eat'n Park (Squirrel Hill)

Address: 1816 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill
Website: eatnpark.com
Mac Says: "My friends and I would get fucked up and go to the Eat'n Park on Murray Avenue, in Squirrel Hill. There'd be hella cops there, and even though we were high, we were so young, they didn't think we were a problem. But it would really blow my high."

6. Carnegie Science Center

Address: 1 Allegheny Ave., North Shore
Website: carnegiesciencecenter.org
Mac Says: "I went to the Science Center a few times when I was really young, because I was in the gifted program. Being in that, you'd get to take creative classes. We'd go to the Science Center a lot. When I got to high school, I started going again, to see the Pink Floyd laser-light show. We'd get stoned and drive over."

5. Frick Park Market

Address: 7103 Reynolds St., Point Breeze
Website: N/A
Mac Says: "Frick Park Market has gone through a couple different owners. I was a kid in Point Breeze when Ronnie and Bobby owned it. They're the O.G. family—for me, at least. We used to play football across the street at Sterrett all day, until 9 p.m. after school. Kids from different neighborhoods would come up, and we'd have really big games. Frick Park Market became the spot to get food and drinks during halftime.

"I came up with my own sandwich there; I'd order ham, egg salad, and lettuce. It's weird, but tasty. Before that, though, me and my homies would order straight turkey. Get a quarter-pound of smoked turkey and just eat it. No bread, straight turkey."

4. Heinz Field

Address: 100 Art Rooney Ave., North Shore
Website: steelers.com
Mac Says: "I remember going to Three Rivers Stadium to see the Pirates play when I was a little kid. It was sad when they demolished it, but exciting, too. Getting something new for the city is exciting, and I love Heinz Field. I was at the game this season where the Steelers played the Bengals—and the Bengals won and went to the playoffs. It was heartbreaking to see how bad they were. I couldn't help but think that if we'd won that game, we would've had a little run."

3. Primanti Bros.

Address: 46 18th St., Strip District
Website: primantibros.com
Mac Says: "I've got a weird sleep schedule, so I like ending nights at the Primanti's in the Strip District. Show up at six in the morning. Last time I walked into Primanti's the old lady behind the counter was clowning me; it felt great. They always fuck with the customers, but it's just jokes."

2. Timebomb

Address: 200 South Highland Ave.
Website: timebombshop.com
Mac Says: "The first time I went to Timebomb, I was 15 years old and I had a mixtape that I'd made myself. I was eating at Buffalo Blues and decided to stop in at Timebomb. I said to the owner, Brick, "Hey, man, I'm a rapper and I have a mixtape that I'm about to drop. Would you push it here?" He said of course. At that point, I'm sure he thought I was a little clown. But he ended up being a very vital person in my career in Pittsburgh. He's always repped me, always supported everything I did. Now that I have other artists that I'm working with, he's supporting them. Brick's put a lot of people onto a lot of hip-hop in Pittsburgh."

1. Taylor Allderdice High School

Address: 2409 Shady Ave., Squirrel Hill
Website: pps.k12.pa.us/allderdice
Mac Says: "By the time I got to 'Dice, I was trying to make music whenever I could. And get high. And have sex. Originally, because I played lacrosse and basketball, I went to a private school for freshman and sophomore year. The difference between private and public school is, at private school, you go and you have no choice: You are either a successful student or you get in trouble. You gotta do your work, which I never did. But then, when I went to public high school, I could do whatever the fuck I wanted. I'd skip or just sleep. Not just nod off in class—fucking sleep. I had teachers that would let me come into their rooms and sleep through other classes. Say I had fourth period English. At second period, I would go to English and just sleep until it was time for class. There were certain teachers I was cool with, and they let me. Then, my senior year, I was voted "Most Likely to Become a Rapper' and 'Most Likely to Be Famous.' And now that shit is true."