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The famous Stahl house, a paragon of midcentury modern design, is now available for the first time in its entire history.

This cantilevered home, perched in the Hollywood Hills area, hit the listings this recent week. The listing price stands at an impressive $25 million.

Owners Decision to Part With

The Stahl family, who have owned the property for its entire 65-year history, issued a statement regarding their decision to sell. They expressed that the house had become increasingly challenging to maintain.

"This house has been the heart of our lives for a long time, but as we’ve aged, it has become increasingly challenging to maintain it with the dedication and vigor it so truly merits," stated the descendants of the first owners.

They added that the period had emerged to find a new "guardian" for the house – "a person who not only recognizes its design legacy but also comprehends its role in the cultural landscape of the city and beyond."

Modest Inception

The beginnings 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 becoming a well-known representation of the city, the family often pointed out that "no celebrities ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "blue-collar family living in a white-collar house."

Design Undertaking

The first design for the Stahl house was developed during the summer months of 1956. However, many builders were originally wary to build it on the precarious hillside.

In November 1957, the Stahls interviewed architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to undertake the challenge. With backing from the prominent Case Study program, pioneered by a leading magazine editor, the owners received subsidies to engage Koenig.

The contemporary program "was about experimentation" and "using new materials and building in locations that maybe earlier the technology didn’t really enable," stated an expert from a city conservancy. "All those things are combined into a property like the Stahl house, which was cutting-edge, modern and unthinkable in terms of how it was erected on that site that everyone else believed, at the time, was unbuildable."

Realization and Cultural Impact

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

Soon after completion, a celebrated architectural photographer captured what is arguably the most iconic picture of the home. Shot through the enormous glass windows, the image shows two women sitting in the home’s living room but appearing to float over the LA skyline.

"I think the enduring effect of this image is due to the way it conveys an notion about living in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both urban and removed from it," stated a founder of an architectural practice and educator at a major university.

Cultural Status

The home has enjoyed historic features in movies, TV and videos, including several famous titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1999, the city designated the Stahl house a protected monument, and in 2013, the house was included as a protected property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Next Ownership

The home is still open for tours, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all tours are currently sold out through February. In their statement concerning the sale, the family stated they would give "ample notice" 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, supporters of building, or organizations seeking to preserve an American masterpiece, there is simply no equal," the listing state. "This goes beyond a purchase; it is a handover of custody – a hunt for the next steward who will respect the house’s history, value its design integrity, and guarantee its protection for generations to come."

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

"In my view any time a long-term steward, and a custodianship like this, is changing ownership of a residence like this, it always creates a little bit of a pause – because you are unsure what the next owner, what their plans will be. And do they grasp and value the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"