A decorative feature added to the top of walls or columns to add interest to walls. It can be super fancy or rather plain.

History of Crown Moulding

Not a pro. Could it be picture rail? See if a hook fits into it.

@Josie23: Zone 5: WI
The only thing that had me confused about this crown moulding is that it's very small (about 1") and is about 3"-4" from the actual ceiling. I've never seen moulding that isn't actually up against the ceiling.
Thank you for the link- it looks like a fun read!

@mononhemeter
I'll have to check it out. Cuz at least then it would seem to have a purpose...

I bet it is picture rail. Interesting.

Looks like crown molding faux design as promoted by HGTV. It isn't truly crown molding from what I can see of your pics. It is a decorative molding piece placed 3-4 inches below the ceiling and then the molding and the wall space up to the ceiling are painted a contrasting color (white in this case) to look like crown molding. See how to here: https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/weekend-project-how-to-create-faux-crown-molding

If I were in your shoes, I would remove it. JMO

this does indeed look like the picture rail in my old house

@maddielee
It's in all the rooms, except the bath and kitchen (which is newer). It's even on a beam.

It’s picture rail moulding. Just remove it all; it’s not doing you any favors. Then again, removing it might open up a giant can of worms since it appears that you have plaster walls. Sooo, maybe you should just pretend it’s not there when it comes to painting and decorating.

Why not buy some hooks and use it to hang your pictures? The House of Antique Hardware sells nice hooks for a very reasonable price.

I would want to be sure it wasn't a short cut for not doing a proper sheetrock seam between the wall and the ceiling.

If that is the case, you could paint it the same as your wall color, & it would pretty much disappear. Or replace it with real crown moulding.

Sometimes this is done to mimic the look of crown molding without the added expense. That piece and the sheetrock or plaster above it gets painted white, while the wall remains a color. It's a fake out to look like there is crown molding all the way to the ceiling. It's similar to when people put molding on the bottom of the sheetrock walls to look like wainscotting.

Paint it the same color all the way to the ceiling then you won’t really notice it.. with contrasting color it’s obviously there...

It's a small decorative trim. That molding size is much cheaper than crown molding and easier to install. I would remove as you paint rooms in the house. You will need to spackle and sand once removed from the wall.

Paint it wall color and same finish.. It will "disappear". Then stop staring at it. If at point you want it totally gone? My bet is there is some mess beneath........and a project : ) Paint it out, all of it wall color and finish.