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The renowned Stahl house, a epitome of mid-century modern architecture, is currently listed for the very first time in its entire history.

This overhanging home, perched in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood, appeared on the market this past week. The listing price stands at an impressive $25 million.

Stewards Choice to Sell

The Stahl family, who have been the proprietors of the property for its full 65-year existence, released a announcement regarding their resolution to sell. They noted that the house had become increasingly challenging to maintain.

"This house has been the heart of our lives for decades, but as we’ve aged, it has become progressively harder to look after it with the care and energy it so richly deserves," wrote the children of the first owners.

They added that the period had emerged to find a new "custodian" for the house – "an individual who not only recognizes its architectural importance but also grasps its position in the cultural history of LA and further afield."

Humble Origins

The beginnings of the Stahl house trace back to May 1954, when the first owners acquired a sloped parcel of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills district for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house evolving into a renowned symbol of the city, the owners often emphasized that "no celebrities ever lived here," describing themselves as a "blue-collar family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Architectural Challenge

The first design for the Stahl house was created during the summer of 1956. However, many designers were initially reluctant to build it on the precarious hillside.

In November 1957, the family consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to take on the task. With assistance from the influential Case Study program, led by a key magazine editor, the Stahls received support to commission Koenig.

The progressive program "was about trial and error" and "using new building materials and constructing in locations that maybe earlier the techniques didn’t really permit," commented an expert from a city conservancy. "All those things are integrated into a site like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, contemporary and unimaginable in terms of how it was constructed on that location that everyone else considered, at the time, was unbuildable."

Finalization and Cultural Legacy

The Stahl house became Case Study house No. 22, and construction started in May 1959. According to the family, construction cost "only $37,500" and the home was completed by May 1960. The outcome was "the ultimate vision of what everyone imagines LA is and should be," the specialist commented.

Soon after the build ended, a famous architectural photographer took what is possibly the most iconic image of the home. Captured through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the photograph features two women sitting in the home’s living room but looking to levitate over the LA skyline.

"I believe the long-standing influence of this photograph is due to the way it expresses an idea about living in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both urban and removed from it," stated a head of an architectural firm and lecturer at a prominent university.

Cultural Designation

The home has had historic appearances in cinema, broadcast and music videos, including several famous titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1999, the city designated the Stahl house a historic-cultural landmark, and in 2013, the house was listed as a preserved site on the National Register of Historic Places.

Coming Custodianship

The home is still open for visits, as it has been for the past 17 years, although all slots are currently reserved through February. In their statement regarding the sale, the family said they would give "sufficient warning" before stopping the tours.

The listing for the home stresses finding a buyer who will maintain the essence of the space.

"For collectors of design, advocates of design, or entities seeking to protect an iconic work, there is simply no equal," the details state. "This is more than a transaction; it is a transfer of stewardship – a search for the next guardian who will respect the house’s legacy, value its design integrity, and guarantee its conservation for generations to come."

The specialist agreed that the selection of purchaser would be a crucial one, given the home’s legacy.

"In my view any time a long-term steward, and a guardianship like this, is changing ownership of a residence like this, it always gives us a little bit of a pause – because you never know what the next owner, what their intentions will be. And will they grasp and appreciate the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"