For Allstonians, Packard's Corner is the gateway to Allston. So they sought a public artwork that would mark the site and contribute to their neighborhood's identity. They chose Allston Directional, by the sculptor Peter Brooks, from designs submitted by sixty competing artists. Erected on a traffic island at the intersection of Commonwealth and Brighton Avenues, Allston Directional plays with the concept of the highway traffic sign and raises it to high art. Six oblong blue panels of various traffic-sign sizes are positioned at right angles around a tall pole. Within its frame, each panel is free to rotate on its vertical axis. When winds stir the panels, Allston Directional is a whir of minimalistic art in motion. Courtesy of Boston Art Commission.
