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The celebrated Stahl house, a paragon of mid-century modern design, is up for sale for the very first time in its complete history.

This overhanging residence, nestled 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 held title to the home for its full 65-year history, shared a declaration regarding their resolution to sell. They noted that the house had proven excessively demanding to maintain.

"This house has been the heart of our lives for many years, but as we’ve aged, it has become increasingly challenging to maintain it with the dedication and vigor it so rightfully warrants," wrote the offspring of the initial owners.

They further stated that the moment had emerged to find a new "custodian" for the house – "someone who not only appreciates its architectural significance but also comprehends its place in the cultural landscape of Los Angeles and further afield."

Modest Beginnings

The inception of the Stahl house trace back to May 1954, when the initial owners acquired a mountainous parcel of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills district for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house evolving into a famous icon of the city, the owners often pointed out that "nobody famous ever lived here," referring to themselves as a "average family living in a luxury house."

Design Undertaking

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

In November 1957, the Stahls consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to accept the challenge. With backing from the notable Case Study program, spearheaded by a key magazine editor, the family received financial aid to hire Koenig.

The modernist program "centered around innovation" and "using new materials and building in sites that maybe before the technology didn’t really permit," remarked an authority from a local heritage organization. "All those things are combined into a place like the Stahl house, which was innovative, progressive and unthinkable in terms of how it was erected on that location that everyone else believed, at the time, was not feasible."

Completion and Cultural Influence

The Stahl house was designated Case Study house No. 22, and construction began in May 1959. According to the residents, construction amounted to "just $37,500" and the home was finished by May 1960. The result was "a perfect representation of what everyone envisions LA is and should be," the expert commented.

Soon after construction was finished, a celebrated architectural photographer captured what is possibly the most iconic picture of the home. Captured through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the photo shows two women seated in the home’s living room but appearing to hover over the city skyline.

"I think the lasting influence of that photo is due to the way it communicates an concept about dwelling in Los Angeles, an ambivalence about being both metropolitan and removed from it," said a head of an architectural company and educator at a major university.

Cultural Recognition

The home has made notable cameos in movies, broadcast and promos, including several famous titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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

Coming Ownership

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

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

"For connoisseurs of design, advocates of design, or organizations seeking to protect an American masterpiece, there is simply no parallel," the listing say. "This goes beyond a sale; it is a transfer of stewardship – a quest for the next custodian who will celebrate the house’s history, appreciate its architectural purity, and guarantee its conservation for posterity."

The expert agreed 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 guardianship like this, is being sold of a property like this, it always gives us a little bit of a concern – because you are unsure what the next owner, what their intentions will be. And do they comprehend and appreciate the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"