In 1969, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) funded a pilot program for a “public environmental information system” depicted in these photos. The system consisted of eight computer-powered kiosks (three of which were topped with striking twelve-foot tall translucent balloons) which provided historical, cultural, ecological, and practical information to curious passersby. The “Directomat” provided information on how to travel to nearby points of interest. These kiosks represented an idealistic vision, both for how people would learn geographic information and how the built environment could inform people’s behavior. The authors plead that “the centers must be public institutions,” lest they merely become “selling machines for advertising promoters.” Today, of course, the phones in our pockets do serve as a kind of “environmental information system”—albeit one that is deeply individual, personalized, and hardly public.
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City Lights and Signs
| Title | Directomat |
| Creator | Ashley/Myer/Smith |
| Year | 1971 |
| Location | Government Documents, Boston Public Library |