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The celebrated Stahl house, a paragon of modernist architecture, is now available for the first time in its whole history.

This overhanging home, perched in the Hollywood Hills area, was listed on the real estate market this recent week. The price tag stands at an impressive $25 million.

Family Decision to Sell

The Stahl family, who have owned the residence for its full 65-year existence, released a announcement regarding their resolution to sell. They stated that the house had become increasingly challenging to upkeep.

"This home has been the heart of our lives for a long time, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become more difficult to care for it with the attention and energy it so rightfully warrants," commented the descendants of the first owners.

They continued that the moment had emerged to find a new "guardian" for the house – "an individual who not only recognizes its architectural significance but also understands its place in the cultural fabric of LA and elsewhere."

Unassuming Inception

The origins of the Stahl house date to May 1954, when the initial owners bought a sloped parcel of land in the then undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house becoming a well-known icon of the city, the family often pointed out that "no celebrities ever lived here," describing themselves as a "working-class family living in a luxury house."

Design Undertaking

The first design for the Stahl house was conceived during the warm season of 1956. However, many architects were at first wary to erect it on the difficult hillside.

In November 1957, the owners consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who consented to accept the challenge. With support from the prominent Case Study program, spearheaded by a leading magazine editor, the owners received subsidies to hire Koenig.

The progressive program "was about trial and error" and "employing new building materials and constructing in sites that maybe earlier the technology didn’t really allow," remarked an authority from a city preservation society. "Each of these factors are combined into a site like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, progressive and unthinkable in terms of how it was built on that plot that everyone else thought, at the time, was unbuildable."

Realization and Famous Impact

The Stahl house was designated Case Study house No. 22, and building commenced in May 1959. According to the residents, construction cost "only $37,500" and the home was move-in ready by May 1960. The result was "a perfect representation of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the authority commented.

Soon after the build ended, a celebrated architectural photographer shot what is arguably the most famous picture of the home. Taken through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the photo shows two women seated in the home’s living room but seeming to hover over the city skyline.

"I think the long-standing impact of this photo is due to the way it expresses an idea about living in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both urban and detached from it," commented a principal of an architectural company and adjunct professor at a major university.

Protected Recognition

The home has enjoyed notable cameos in cinema, broadcast and promos, 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 included as a protected property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Next Ownership

The home is still open for public viewings, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all tours are currently reserved through February. In their statement announcing the sale, the family indicated they would give "sufficient warning" before stopping the tours.

The sales details for the home highlights finding a new owner who will conserve the spirit of the space.

"For enthusiasts of architecture, patrons of building, or organizations seeking to protect an iconic work, there is simply nothing comparable," the listing read. "This is not merely a sale; it is a handover of custody – a search for the next custodian who will honor the house’s history, respect its original vision, and ensure its protection for generations to come."

The specialist agreed that the choice of new owner would be a crucial one, given the home’s past.

"I think any time a original family, and a custodianship like this, is being sold of a property like this, it always creates a little bit of a concern – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their aims will be. And do they understand and cherish the house, as in this unique case the Stahl family has?"