One of the most brilliant features of the museum is something that most people don’t even notice. All around the museum at the very tops of the walls (with the exception of the windowed walls around the courtyard), there is a subtle piece of wood that looks like finish molding. While it does finish off the walls nicely, it is actually a functional part of the museum; it is picture rail.
Museum staff can hang hooks from the picture rail, which allows us to hang artifacts and framed photos with the use of chains or mono-filament (a.k.a. fishing line). What makes picture rails so brilliant, especially in a museum that changes its displays often, is that it prevents us from pounding nails into the walls. Picture rail makes us wall preservationists.
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Celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum.