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The celebrated Stahl house, a epitome of midcentury modern design, is currently listed for the initial occasion in its entire history.

This overhanging home, perched in the Hollywood Hills area, hit the listings this past week. The price tag stands at a substantial $25 million.

Family Choice to Part With

The Stahl family, who have owned the property for its complete 65-year history, shared a statement regarding their resolution to sell. They stated that the property had proven excessively demanding to maintain.

"This home has been the core of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become progressively harder to care for it with the attention and effort it so rightfully warrants," stated the offspring of the first owners.

They continued that the moment had come to find a new "guardian" for the house – "a person who not only appreciates its architectural significance but also understands its place in the cultural landscape of the city and beyond."

Humble Beginnings

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

Despite the Stahl house becoming a famous icon of the city, the family often emphasized that "nobody famous ever lived here," referring to themselves as a "working-class family living in a white-collar house."

Construction Undertaking

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

In November 1957, the owners interviewed architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to undertake the project. With support from the notable Case Study program, spearheaded by a leading magazine editor, the Stahls received financial aid to engage Koenig.

The modernist program "focused on experimentation" and "employing new resources and constructing in locations that maybe before the engineering didn’t really enable," stated an specialist from a city heritage organization. "Each of these factors are integrated into a place like the Stahl house, which was innovative, progressive and unthinkable in terms of how it was erected on that site that everyone else considered, at the time, was impossible to build."

Realization and Iconic Influence

The Stahl house became Case Study house No. 22, and construction began in May 1959. According to the residents, construction totaled "only $37,500" and the home was completed by May 1960. The final product was "the ultimate vision of what everyone envisions LA is and should be," the authority added.

Soon after construction was finished, a renowned architectural photographer captured what is possibly the most iconic picture of the home. Captured through the full-length glass windows, the image shows two women positioned in the home’s living room but looking to float over the LA skyline.

"In my opinion the enduring influence of the photo is due to the way it expresses an notion about residing in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both in the city and separate from it," stated a founder of an architectural practice and educator at a leading university.

Historic Designation

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

In 1999, the city recognized 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.

Next Stewardship

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

The property description for the home stresses finding a purchaser who will maintain the essence of the space.

"For enthusiasts of design, supporters of building, or entities seeking to preserve an American masterpiece, there is simply nothing comparable," the listing say. "This is more than a sale; it is a handover of custody – a quest for the next steward who will celebrate the house’s past, value its original vision, and secure its preservation for generations to come."

The expert agreed that the selection of new owner would be a vital one, given the home’s history.

"In my view any time a long-term steward, and a stewardship like this, is being sold of a property like this, it always gives us a little bit of a pause – because you never know what the next owner, what their aims will be. And can they grasp and value the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"