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

This cantilevered residence, nestled in the Hollywood Hills, appeared on the real estate market this recent week. The price tag stands at an impressive $25 million.

Family Choice to Sell

The Stahl family, who have held title to the property for its full 65-year history, shared a announcement regarding their decision to sell. They expressed that the property had proven 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 look after it with the attention and energy it so richly deserves," wrote the offspring of the original owners.

They added that the period had come to find a new "custodian" for the house – "someone who not only values its design legacy but also grasps its place in the cultural history of the city and elsewhere."

Humble Beginnings

The beginnings of the Stahl house go back to May 1954, when the initial owners purchased a sloped parcel of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills neighborhood for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house growing into a well-known symbol of the city, the owners often emphasized that "no celebrities ever lived here," describing themselves as a "average family living in a white-collar house."

Design Undertaking

The first design for the Stahl house was conceived during the summer of 1956. However, many designers were at first wary to construct it on the challenging hillside.

In November 1957, the family interviewed architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to undertake the task. With support from the notable Case Study program, led by a prominent magazine editor, the Stahls received support to hire Koenig.

The progressive program "focused on experimentation" and "employing new materials and building in locations that maybe earlier the engineering didn’t really allow," commented an authority from a regional conservancy. "All those things are wrapped up into a site like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, contemporary and inconceivable in terms of how it was constructed on that location that everyone else thought, at the time, was unbuildable."

Finalization and Cultural Impact

The Stahl house was assigned Case Study house No. 22, and construction began in May 1959. According to the family, construction cost "just $37,500" and the home was move-in ready by May 1960. The result was "the ultimate vision of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the authority noted.

Soon after construction was finished, a famous architectural photographer shot what is arguably the most famous image of the home. Captured through the enormous glass windows, the photograph features two women positioned in the home’s living room but seeming to float over the city skyline.

"I think the enduring influence of the photo is due to the way it expresses an idea about dwelling in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both in the city and removed from it," commented a head of an architectural company and adjunct professor at a leading university.

Cultural Status

The home has enjoyed notable appearances in cinema, broadcast and music videos, including several popular 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 listed as a protected property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Coming Ownership

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

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

"For enthusiasts of architecture, patrons of building, or institutions seeking to safeguard an national treasure, there is simply nothing comparable," the details read. "This is not merely a purchase; it is a transfer of stewardship – a hunt for the next steward who will celebrate the house’s past, value its design integrity, and guarantee its conservation for posterity."

The specialist affirmed that the selection of purchaser would be a vital one, given the home’s past.

"In my view any time a original family, and a stewardship like this, is changing ownership of a home like this, it always gives us a little bit of a pause – because you never know what the next owner, what their intentions will be. And can they understand and appreciate the house, as in this unique case the Stahl family has?"