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The celebrated Stahl house, a paragon of midcentury modern design, is up for sale for the initial occasion in its entire history.

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

Owners Choice to Part With

The Stahl family, who have been the proprietors of the home for its full 65-year existence, shared a statement regarding their resolution to sell. They noted that the house had proven excessively demanding to care for.

"This residence has been the heart of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become more difficult to care for it with the dedication and energy it so rightfully warrants," commented the descendants of the initial owners.

They added that the time had emerged to find a new "guardian" for the house – "an individual who not only recognizes its architectural significance but also comprehends its place in the cultural landscape of Los Angeles and beyond."

Humble Beginnings

The origins of the Stahl house date to May 1954, when the initial owners acquired a hilly parcel of land in the at the time undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house evolving into a renowned icon of the city, the residents often emphasized that "nobody famous ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "working-class family living in a white-collar house."

Construction Challenge

The first design for the Stahl house was developed during the warm season of 1956. However, many designers were at first hesitant to construct it on the precarious hillside.

In November 1957, the family consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who consented to accept the task. With support from the prominent Case Study program, led by a prominent magazine editor, the owners received financial aid to engage Koenig.

The contemporary program "centered around trial and error" and "utilizing new materials and constructing in locations that maybe before the techniques didn’t really allow," stated an expert from a city conservancy. "All those things are wrapped up into a site like the Stahl house, which was cutting-edge, progressive and unimaginable in terms of how it was erected on that plot that everyone else believed, at the time, was impossible to build."

Realization and Cultural Legacy

The Stahl house was assigned Case Study house No. 22, and construction started in May 1959. According to the family, construction amounted to "just $37,500" and the home was finished by May 1960. The final product was "a perfect representation of what everyone envisions LA is and should be," the expert noted.

Soon after completion, a famous architectural photographer captured what is possibly the most famous picture of the home. Captured through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the photo features two women seated in the home’s living room but seeming to float over the LA skyline.

"I believe the long-standing impact of the photograph is due to the way it expresses an notion about dwelling in Los Angeles, an ambivalence about being both in the city and removed from it," stated a founder of an architectural practice and lecturer at a prominent university.

Historic Recognition

The home has made notable appearances in film, television and promos, 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 included as a protected property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Next Stewardship

The home is still open for public viewings, as it has been for the previous 17 years, although all tours are currently reserved through February. In their announcement announcing the sale, the family indicated they would give "plenty of advance notice" before stopping the tours.

The property description for the home highlights finding a new owner who will maintain the essence of the space.

"For enthusiasts of style, supporters of architecture, or entities seeking to protect an national treasure, there is simply nothing comparable," the details state. "This goes beyond a sale; it is a handover of custody – a hunt for the next steward who will honor the house’s past, respect its architectural purity, and guarantee its protection for generations to come."

The authority agreed that the decision of purchaser would be a critical one, given the home’s legacy.

"In my view any time a longtime owner, and a custodianship like this, is being sold of a property like this, it always causes a little bit of a concern – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their aims will be. And can they understand and appreciate the house, as in this specific case the Stahl family has?"