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

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

Family Choice to Part With

The Stahl family, who have held title to the home for its full 65-year existence, released a statement regarding their choice to sell. They noted that the property had proven excessively demanding to care for.

"This residence has been the core of our lives for many years, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become progressively harder to look after it with the attention and energy it so truly merits," stated the descendants of the initial owners.

They added that the time had arrived to find a new "guardian" for the house – "an individual who not only appreciates its architectural importance but also comprehends its role in the cultural fabric of the city and further afield."

Unassuming Inception

The beginnings of the Stahl house trace back to May 1954, when the initial owners purchased a hilly parcel of land in the then undeveloped Hollywood Hills district for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house becoming a famous icon of the city, the owners often stressed that "nobody famous ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "blue-collar family living in a white-collar house."

Architectural Challenge

The original design for the Stahl house was conceived during the summer months of 1956. However, many designers were originally reluctant to erect it on the precarious hillside.

In November 1957, the Stahls consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to accept the project. With support from the prominent Case Study program, led by a leading magazine editor, the Stahls received financial aid to hire Koenig.

The modernist program "focused on experimentation" and "using new resources and constructing in locations that maybe before the techniques didn’t really enable," remarked an expert from a city conservancy. "Each of these factors are combined into a site like the Stahl house, which was innovative, modern and unthinkable in terms of how it was constructed on that site that everyone else thought, at the time, was not feasible."

Finalization and Iconic Impact

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

Soon after the build ended, a celebrated architectural photographer shot what is possibly the most well-known photograph of the home. Taken through the full-length glass windows, the image shows two women sitting in the home’s living room but seeming to levitate over the LA skyline.

"In my opinion the enduring effect of the image is due to the way it conveys an notion about living in Los Angeles, an ambivalence about being both in the city and separate from it," stated a principal of an architectural firm and educator at a leading university.

Protected Designation

The home has made memorable appearances in movies, broadcast and music videos, including several famous titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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

Next Ownership

The home remains open for public viewings, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all tours are currently reserved through February. In their announcement regarding the sale, the family stated they would give "sufficient warning" before ending the tours.

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

"For connoisseurs of style, advocates of design, or organizations seeking to safeguard an iconic work, there is simply no equal," the details state. "This goes beyond a transaction; it is a handover of custody – a hunt for the next steward who will honor the house’s legacy, respect its original vision, and secure its conservation for generations to come."

The expert concurred that the selection of buyer would be a crucial one, given the home’s legacy.

"In my view any time a longtime owner, and a custodianship like this, is transferring hands of a property like this, it always causes a little bit of a pause – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their intentions will be. And will they grasp and value the house, as in this specific case the Stahl family has?"