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The celebrated Stahl house, a quintessential example of modernist architecture, is currently listed for the initial occasion in its entire history.

This overhanging home, perched in the Hollywood Hills, appeared on the real estate market this week. The listing price stands at a notable $25 million.

Owners Move to Sell

The Stahl family, who have been the proprietors of the home for its full 65-year history, released a statement regarding their resolution to sell. They stated that the property had proven too difficult to care for.

"This house has been the core of our lives for a long time, but as we’ve aged, it has become increasingly challenging to care for it with the dedication and vigor it so richly deserves," stated the descendants of the original owners.

They continued that the time had emerged to find a new "guardian" for the house – "someone who not only recognizes its design legacy but also grasps its place in the cultural fabric of Los Angeles and beyond."

Modest Beginnings

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

Despite the Stahl house evolving into a well-known icon of the city, the family often emphasized that "no celebrities ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "average family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Design Challenge

The initial design for the Stahl house was created during the summer months of 1956. However, many designers were at first hesitant to erect it on the precarious hillside.

In November 1957, the Stahls consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to undertake the task. With backing from the prominent Case Study program, led by a key magazine editor, the Stahls received subsidies to hire Koenig.

The contemporary program "centered around trial and error" and "employing new materials and erecting in sites that maybe earlier the engineering didn’t really permit," remarked an authority from a regional conservancy. "All those things are wrapped up into a place like the Stahl house, which was cutting-edge, modern and unimaginable in terms of how it was built on that plot that everyone else thought, at the time, was not feasible."

Realization and Cultural Influence

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

Soon after completion, a renowned architectural photographer shot what is perhaps the most iconic photograph of the home. Shot through the full-length glass windows, the photo depicts two women seated in the home’s living room but appearing to levitate over the city skyline.

"I believe the lasting effect of this photo is due to the way it conveys an idea about living in Los Angeles, an ambivalence about being both metropolitan and separate from it," said a principal of an architectural company and lecturer at a prominent university.

Protected Designation

The home has enjoyed notable cameos in film, broadcast and music videos, including several popular titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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

Coming Custodianship

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

The listing for the home emphasizes finding a buyer who will conserve the spirit of the space.

"For connoisseurs of design, supporters of design, or institutions seeking to protect an iconic work, there is simply no parallel," the details read. "This is more than a transaction; it is a transfer of stewardship – a search for the next steward who will honor the house’s past, appreciate its design integrity, and secure its conservation for future generations."

The authority agreed that the selection of purchaser would be a vital one, given the home’s history.

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