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93 In 50 years in real estate, the most iconic and fascinating properties sold. What we call the Texas White House is one — built by Texas Governor Ross Sterling as a scaled-down replica of the U.S. White House, with breathtaking views of Galveston Bay. Alfred Finn was the architect, and it was completed in '27 on Morgan's Point in Kemah. It cost $1.4 million then. I think the Sterling estate gave it to Boys Harbor, and Paul Barkley bought it in the late '50s. He was a friend of my parents. He was a big Lakewood Yacht Club man, had a bunch of parties in the '60s when the astronauts fi rst came to Houston. We sold it through his estate and we've sold it twice since. Then on Longfellow Lane in Shadyside. is the D.D. Peden home. This was the fi rst house, to the best of my knowledge, that New York architect Harrie Lindeberg's fi rm came down here to design. Lindeberg sent this young architect named John Staub to oversee it, and he ended up staying in Houston. When we sold it, it was the most expensive estate sold in Houston in 2008. And there's Rienzi. Carroll and Harris Masterson, who owned Rienzi, tried for years back in the late '60s and early '70s, to give Rienzi to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The homeowners in Homewood, which is Lazy Lane, would not allow it. So then the Mastersons decided to sell the house, and we put it on the market. And, fi nally, Homewood residents came around and said,"Yes, you can give it to the museum," and we took it off the market. Then the J. Robert Neal home on Lazy Lane. It's a John Staub-designed house and has always been one of my favorites. John Mecom Sr. bought it around 1960, and we sold it after Mrs. Mecom passed away. The Neal family brought all the materials and everything from France, and it's just a magnifi cent home. We sold it to David Dewhurst. And then we sold it for David to John and Terri Havens, who live in it now. John was the perfect buyer for this home, because he loves architecture. And the Waldo Mansion, built in 1885 at the corner of Rusk and Caroline, was moved brick by brick to the suburbs of the time, Westmoreland Place. Designated as a Texas Landmark in 1978, it was cast as the home of Jack Nicholson's character in the fi lm Terms of Endearment. The homes at 7 Winston Woods Drive designed by architect John Staub, and 6 Longfellow designed by Birdsall Briscoe were both built in the early 1900s and are still relevant and beautiful today. Architect beyond reproach. For residential of a particular era, John Staub. He brought Europe to Houston. He was just a wonderful man. And, to the best of my knowledge, we have sold every Staub house in Houston that has ever come on the market, at least one time. His proportions are great. His ceiling heights. His fi replaces are the best. If you study Staub's fi replaces, they always look like they are taller than they are wide, but it's an optical illusion. They weren't short and squatty like a lot of fi replaces today. The homes of Houston's scandalous. Candace Mossler's house on Willowick. Candace lived there forever, then we sold this house about four times. Probably the most famous person that's lived in it since Candace Mossler was Frank Lorenzo. People that have been around a long time in Houston will remember Candace. She and her nephew Mel Powers were accused of killing her husband, Jacques, in Florida. And they got off. I knew her very well because her daughter, Rita, was a friend of mine. We went through school together. I'll never forget going into the house right after the estate was getting ready to sell it, and I walked into the upstairs halls, and the walls were singed. Apparently Mrs. Mossler had the heater up so high, it singed the walls. And then going into her bedroom there was a door that opened into the hall, and it had four or fi ve dead bolts on it, and then a door going into her bathroom had four or fi ve dead bolts on it. And we've sold the Dr. John Hill and Joan Robinson Hill home on the corner of Kirby Drive and Brentwood, through their estate. Joan died — or was killed — in the upstairs bedroom, and John was killed in the foyer. Joan was very active in the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show. Everybody loved her. In a company with a reputation for hiring and creating powerful women, two who stand out. Cheri Fama, president and COO, who began in 2010. She oversees sales, operations, and marketing for our company. She has done a magnifi cent job. We have never had a disagreement. We talk at least once a day, if not twice or three times. And Anne Incorvia, executive vice president and head of our Global Business Development department. The tell-all. I should write a book, but then I'd have to leave town. And I like it here, so I'm not going to write it anytime soon. 7 Winston Woods Drive, designed by John Staub John Daugherty in his offi ce. Cheri Fama Texas White House, designed by Alfred Finn