Fishtown Akiras, why are there so many?
July 18, 2025 10:30a by Ryan
If you've wandered around Fishtown lately, you've likely seen them: the boxy, half-finished, panelled husks of what was once a developer's dream. In Japan, An Akira is a fractured dream. A hollow, skeletal frame of modern ambition, left to rot in the smog of tomorrow. In Fishtown, it’s what you call the shell of of a luxury rowhome that never made it to market. In Fishtown, they've come to symbolize the opposite — murky ownership, unclear timelines, and a different kind of blight on the neighborhood.
Over the years, these unfinished homes have sprouted up during the boom in Fishtown. Maybe the developer passed, lost interest, or ran out of money. Regardless, these “Akiras” are now a worse blight than the 100-year-old homes they were meant to replace.
With no clear path to completion, neighbors are left staring at unfinished siding, abandoned scaffolding, and distressed sidewalks. Will they ever become homes? Or are they permanent ghosts in the neighborhood skyline?