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The famous Stahl house, a paragon of midcentury modern architecture, is currently listed for the very first time in its whole history.

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

Owners Decision to Let Go

The Stahl family, who have owned the residence for its full 65-year history, shared a announcement regarding their decision to sell. They noted that the house had proven excessively demanding to care for.

"This house has been the center of our lives for a long time, but as we’ve grown older, it has become increasingly challenging to maintain it with the attention and vigor it so rightfully warrants," commented the children of the original owners.

They added that the period had arrived to find a new "steward" for the house – "a person who not only appreciates its architectural significance but also grasps its place in the cultural fabric of Los Angeles and further afield."

Unassuming Origins

The origins of the Stahl house go back to May 1954, when the first owners purchased a sloped patch of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house becoming a renowned representation of the city, the residents often stressed that "nobody famous ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "average family living in a luxury house."

Construction Undertaking

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

In November 1957, the family met with architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to accept the challenge. With backing from the prominent Case Study program, led by a prominent magazine editor, the Stahls received support to commission Koenig.

The progressive program "centered around experimentation" and "employing new materials and constructing in sites that maybe earlier the technology didn’t really enable," remarked an specialist from a regional preservation society. "All these elements are wrapped up into a site like the Stahl house, which was innovative, contemporary and inconceivable in terms of how it was constructed on that location that everyone else believed, at the time, was impossible to build."

Finalization and Cultural Impact

The Stahl house became Case Study house No. 22, and building commenced in May 1959. According to the owners, construction amounted to "only $37,500" and the home was finished by May 1960. The outcome was "an idealized version of what everyone envisions LA is and should be," the expert added.

Soon after construction was finished, a renowned architectural photographer captured what is possibly the most famous image of the home. Taken through the full-length glass windows, the photograph shows two women positioned in the home’s living room but looking to levitate over the Los Angeles skyline.

"In my opinion the enduring influence of this image is due to the way it communicates an concept about dwelling in Los Angeles, an duality about being both in the city and detached from it," commented a principal of an architectural firm and lecturer at a leading university.

Historic Designation

The home has had memorable features in film, television and promos, including several famous 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 protected property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Next Ownership

The home continues to be open for visits, as it has been for the past 17 years, although all tours are currently sold out through February. In their announcement concerning the sale, the family said they would give "ample notice" before discontinuing the tours.

The listing for the home stresses finding a purchaser who will preserve the spirit of the space.

"For connoisseurs of design, advocates of design, or entities seeking to protect an iconic work, there is simply no parallel," the listing state. "This is not merely a purchase; it is a handover of custody – a quest for the next steward who will celebrate the house’s history, respect its architectural purity, and ensure its conservation for generations to come."

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

"In my view any time a long-term steward, and a guardianship like this, is being sold of a home like this, it always creates a little bit of a pause – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their aims will be. And do they comprehend and value the house, as in this specific case the Stahl family has?"