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The celebrated Stahl house, a quintessential example of mid-century modern architecture, is currently listed for the very first time in its whole history.

This cantilevered home, perched in the Hollywood Hills area, appeared on the real estate market this recent week. The asking price stands at a substantial $25 million.

Stewards Choice to Sell

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

"This house has been the center of our lives for many years, but as we’ve grown older, it has become progressively harder to look after it with the attention and effort it so richly deserves," stated the offspring of the original owners.

They continued that the moment had arrived to find a new "guardian" for the house – "an individual who not only values its architectural significance but also understands its place in the cultural fabric of Los Angeles and further afield."

Humble Origins

The inception of the Stahl house date to May 1954, when the original owners purchased a mountainous patch of land in the then undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house growing into a renowned representation of the city, the owners often pointed out that "nobody famous ever lived here," describing themselves as a "working-class family living in a white-collar house."

Architectural Undertaking

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

In November 1957, the Stahls met with architect Pierre Koenig, who consented to undertake the challenge. With backing from the influential Case Study program, spearheaded by a leading magazine editor, the family received financial aid to hire Koenig.

The contemporary program "focused on experimentation" and "employing new building materials and building in locations that maybe earlier the techniques didn’t really permit," commented an authority from a city conservancy. "All these elements are wrapped up into a place like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, modern and inconceivable in terms of how it was built on that location 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 building commenced in May 1959. According to the owners, construction cost "just $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 celebrated architectural photographer captured what is perhaps the most iconic image of the home. Shot through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the image features two women seated in the home’s living room but looking to float over the city skyline.

"In my opinion the enduring effect of that photograph is due to the way it conveys an concept about living in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both metropolitan and removed from it," stated a founder of an architectural company and adjunct professor at a major university.

Protected Status

The home has enjoyed memorable features in cinema, TV and promos, including several well-known titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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

Next Stewardship

The home remains open for tours, as it has been for the previous 17 years, although all appointments are currently sold out through February. In their release concerning the sale, the family said they would give "ample notice" before ending the tours.

The property description for the home stresses finding a buyer who will conserve the spirit of the space.

"For connoisseurs of style, advocates of design, or entities seeking to preserve an iconic work, there is simply nothing comparable," the listing say. "This goes beyond a transaction; it is a transfer of stewardship – a search for the next steward who will celebrate the house’s legacy, value its original vision, and secure its conservation for posterity."

The specialist affirmed that the decision of new owner would be a critical one, given the home’s history.

"In my view any time a original family, and a custodianship like this, is changing ownership of a residence like this, it always creates a little bit of a hesitation – because you are unsure what the next owner, what their plans will be. And can they comprehend and cherish the house, as in this unique case the Stahl family has?"