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

This overhanging dwelling, perched in the Hollywood Hills, was listed on the listings this week. The asking price stands at an impressive $25 million.

Owners Choice to Sell

The Stahl family, who have held title to the property for its complete 65-year timeline, shared a announcement regarding their choice to sell. They stated that the dwelling had become too difficult to maintain.

"This home has been the core of our lives for decades, but as we’ve grown older, it has become progressively harder to care for it with the care and vigor it so truly merits," commented the descendants of the first owners.

They added that the time had arrived to find a new "custodian" for the house – "a person who not only values its design legacy but also comprehends its position in the cultural history of LA and beyond."

Humble Inception

The origins of the Stahl house trace back to May 1954, when the first owners acquired a hilly patch of land in the then undeveloped Hollywood Hills neighborhood for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house growing into a famous representation of the city, the owners often pointed out that "no celebrities ever lived here," referring to themselves as a "blue-collar family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Construction Feat

The initial design for the Stahl house was conceived during the warm season of 1956. However, many architects were originally reluctant to erect it on the difficult hillside.

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

The modernist program "centered around trial and error" and "employing new materials and building in locations that maybe before the technology didn’t really allow," commented an expert from a city heritage organization. "Each of these factors are wrapped up into a place like the Stahl house, which was cutting-edge, progressive and unimaginable in terms of how it was erected on that location that everyone else thought, at the time, was unbuildable."

Realization and Cultural Legacy

The Stahl house became Case Study house No. 22, and work began in May 1959. According to the owners, construction cost "only $37,500" and the home was move-in ready by May 1960. The final product was "an idealized version of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the authority added.

Soon after construction was finished, a renowned architectural photographer captured what is possibly the most iconic image of the home. Shot through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the image depicts two women seated in the home’s living room but looking to levitate over the city skyline.

"In my opinion the long-standing impact of the photograph is due to the way it conveys an idea about living in Los Angeles, an ambivalence about being both in the city and removed from it," commented a founder of an architectural practice and educator at a prominent university.

Historic Recognition

The home has made historic features in film, television and videos, including several well-known titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1999, the city designated the Stahl house a heritage site, and in 2013, the house was listed as a conserved building on the National Register of Historic Places.

Future Ownership

The home is still open for tours, as it has been for the previous 17 years, although all slots are currently fully booked through February. In their release concerning the sale, the family stated they would give "plenty of advance notice" before discontinuing the tours.

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

"For collectors of architecture, supporters of design, or organizations seeking to safeguard an iconic work, there is simply no parallel," the details say. "This goes beyond a transaction; it is a passing of responsibility – a hunt for the next guardian who will celebrate the house’s history, value its original vision, and ensure its protection for generations to come."

The authority concurred that the choice of buyer would be a vital one, given the home’s history.

"I think any time a long-term steward, and a stewardship like this, is being sold of a home like this, it always gives us a little bit of a pause – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their aims will be. And do they comprehend and appreciate the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"