Built by John F. Staub, Rienzi was the residence of Carroll Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III, then of their descendants until 1997, when it became an outpost of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. The owners loved 18C and 19C European art: Sèvres and Worcester porcelain, French Rococo furniture, English silverware are dotted about the place. The garden (1.6ha), which extends to the bayou, is a pure delight with, among other plants, large-flowered magnolias.