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The celebrated Stahl house, a epitome of modernist design, is up for sale for the very first time in its entire history.

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

Family Move to Part With

The Stahl family, who have owned the property for its full 65-year timeline, shared a statement regarding their choice to sell. They expressed that the dwelling had proven excessively demanding to care for.

"This home has been the heart of our lives for a long time, but as we’ve aged, it has become progressively harder to look after it with the attention and energy it so truly merits," stated the children of the original owners.

They added that the time had come to find a new "guardian" for the house – "an individual who not only recognizes its architectural importance but also grasps its position in the cultural fabric of Los Angeles and beyond."

Humble Inception

The inception of the Stahl house trace back to May 1954, when the original owners bought a sloped parcel of land in the at the time undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house growing into a famous representation of the city, the owners often emphasized that "no famous individuals ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "blue-collar family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Architectural Challenge

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

In November 1957, the Stahls consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who consented to accept the challenge. With support from the influential Case Study program, spearheaded by a prominent magazine editor, the owners received financial aid to engage Koenig.

The contemporary program "was about experimentation" and "utilizing new materials and constructing in sites that maybe earlier the engineering didn’t really permit," commented an specialist from a city conservancy. "All these elements are combined into a place like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, progressive and inconceivable in terms of how it was erected on that plot that everyone else thought, at the time, was impossible to build."

Completion and Famous Influence

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

Soon after construction was finished, a celebrated architectural photographer captured what is arguably the most iconic photograph of the home. Taken through the enormous glass windows, the photograph shows two women sitting in the home’s living room but appearing to float over the LA skyline.

"I think the long-standing influence of that image is due to the way it conveys an concept about living in Los Angeles, an ambivalence about being both metropolitan and removed from it," commented a founder of an architectural practice and educator at a major university.

Protected Recognition

The home has made notable cameos in movies, TV and music videos, including several popular titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1999, the city designated the Stahl house a historic-cultural landmark, and in 2013, the house was added as a preserved site on the National Register of Historic Places.

Future Stewardship

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

The property description for the home emphasizes finding a purchaser who will maintain the spirit of the space.

"For enthusiasts of architecture, advocates of design, or institutions seeking to protect an national treasure, there is simply no parallel," the details read. "This is not merely a purchase; it is a passing of responsibility – a quest for the next steward who will celebrate the house’s legacy, appreciate its design integrity, and guarantee its conservation for generations to come."

The expert concurred that the choice of new owner would be a vital one, given the home’s legacy.

"In my view any time a longtime owner, and a custodianship like this, is transferring hands of a residence like this, it always causes a little bit of a hesitation – because you are unsure what the next owner, what their plans will be. And will they comprehend and value the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"