His colleagues assumed he chose the west-facing room for the sky. The lodging request was explicit: the window must face west. When the building was converted, curator Hal wanted to preserve the view as part of the observer's working life.
A letter to his sister described the real advantage. From that window he could see the late bus stop and know whether she arrived safely for her visits. His observations were made elsewhere. The room's importance was domestic, although its occupant's profession made a scientific explanation seem inevitable.
Hal revised the exhibition plan. He included both the lodging request and the letter, avoiding a reconstruction of equipment that had never stood there. The sister's daughter supplied a photograph of a suitcase beneath the window.
At sunset, the room still filled with dramatic light. Visitors were free to admire it without treating every detail as part of a great discovery. Hal found that the smaller explanation made the room more particular. Anyone could watch a beautiful western sky; only this man had waited at this window for this bus and the person stepping down from it.