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The celebrated Stahl house, a epitome of mid-century modern design, is currently listed for the first time in its whole history.

This suspended dwelling, nestled in the Hollywood Hills, was listed on the market this recent week. The asking price stands at a notable $25 million.

Family Choice to Sell

The Stahl family, who have held title to the home for its full 65-year history, issued a declaration regarding their decision to sell. They stated that the property had become excessively demanding to care for.

"This house has been the heart of our lives for a long time, but as we’ve aged, it has become more difficult to look after it with the care and effort it so rightfully warrants," commented the offspring of the first owners.

They continued that the moment had come to find a new "guardian" for the house – "someone who not only appreciates its architectural importance but also comprehends its place in the cultural fabric of LA and beyond."

Unassuming Inception

The beginnings of the Stahl house go back to May 1954, when the first owners acquired a mountainous plot of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house growing into a renowned symbol of the city, the residents often pointed out that "nobody famous ever lived here," describing themselves as a "working-class family living in a luxury house."

Architectural Feat

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

In November 1957, the Stahls met with architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to undertake the challenge. With backing from the prominent Case Study program, led by a leading magazine editor, the Stahls received financial aid to commission Koenig.

The contemporary program "focused on trial and error" and "using new building materials and erecting in locations that maybe before the technology didn’t really permit," remarked an specialist from a city conservancy. "All these elements are wrapped up into a property like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, modern and unthinkable in terms of how it was constructed on that site that everyone else thought, at the time, was unbuildable."

Realization and Cultural Legacy

The Stahl house was designated Case Study house No. 22, and building commenced in May 1959. According to the family, construction cost "only $37,500" and the home was completed by May 1960. The final product was "the ultimate vision of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the specialist commented.

Soon after construction was finished, a celebrated architectural photographer took what is possibly the most well-known picture of the home. Captured through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the photograph depicts two women positioned in the home’s living room but seeming to hover over the LA skyline.

"I believe the lasting influence of that photograph is due to the way it conveys an concept about dwelling in Los Angeles, an ambivalence about being both metropolitan and separate from it," stated a principal of an architectural practice and adjunct professor at a prominent university.

Cultural Recognition

The home has made historic appearances in movies, television and promos, including several popular titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1999, the city declared the Stahl house a heritage site, and in 2013, the house was added as a preserved site on the National Register of Historic Places.

Future Ownership

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

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

"For connoisseurs of architecture, advocates of building, or organizations seeking to safeguard an iconic work, there is simply no parallel," the description read. "This is more than a sale; it is a passing of responsibility – a search for the next steward who will celebrate the house’s legacy, appreciate its design integrity, and guarantee its conservation for posterity."

The expert concurred that the choice of purchaser would be a critical one, given the home’s history.

"I think any time a original family, and a stewardship like this, is transferring hands of a residence like this, it always creates a little bit of a pause – because you never know what the next owner, what their plans will be. And can they understand and cherish the house, as in this unique case the Stahl family has?"