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The renowned Stahl house, a epitome of mid-century modern design, is now available for the very first time in its complete history.

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

Owners Choice to Part With

The Stahl family, who have been the proprietors of the property for its entire 65-year history, shared a declaration regarding their decision to sell. They expressed that the house had proven too difficult to upkeep.

"This home has been the heart of our lives for many years, but as we’ve aged, it has become more difficult to care for it with the care and energy it so richly deserves," stated the offspring of the initial owners.

They further stated that the moment had emerged to find a new "guardian" for the house – "an individual who not only values its architectural significance but also grasps its role in the cultural history of the city and elsewhere."

Humble Origins

The origins of the Stahl house trace back to May 1954, when the initial owners bought a sloped parcel of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills neighborhood for $13,500.

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

Construction Undertaking

The first design for the Stahl house was conceived during the summer months of 1956. However, many architects were originally reluctant to erect it on the challenging hillside.

In November 1957, the family consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to undertake the challenge. With assistance from the notable Case Study program, pioneered by a prominent magazine editor, the family received subsidies to hire Koenig.

The contemporary program "focused on trial and error" and "using new building materials and building in places that maybe before the technology didn’t really permit," remarked an expert from a city conservancy. "Each of these factors are wrapped up into a property like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, progressive and unimaginable in terms of how it was built on that plot that everyone else considered, at the time, was not feasible."

Finalization and Cultural Impact

The Stahl house was designated Case Study house No. 22, and construction began in May 1959. According to the family, construction cost "only $37,500" and the home was completed by May 1960. The final product was "a perfect representation of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the expert added.

Soon after completion, a celebrated architectural photographer took what is arguably the most well-known image of the home. Captured through the enormous glass windows, the photo shows two women positioned in the home’s living room but looking to levitate over the city skyline.

"I think the long-standing impact of the image is due to the way it communicates an notion about dwelling in Los Angeles, an duality about being both metropolitan and removed from it," said a founder of an architectural firm and adjunct professor at a leading university.

Historic Designation

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

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

Coming Ownership

The home continues to be open for public viewings, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all slots are currently reserved through February. In their announcement announcing the sale, the family said they would give "ample notice" before discontinuing the tours.

The property description for the home stresses finding a purchaser who will conserve the character of the space.

"For connoisseurs of style, patrons of building, or entities seeking to preserve an American masterpiece, there is simply no equal," the listing read. "This is not merely a transaction; it is a handover of custody – a search for the next guardian who will honor the house’s history, respect its original vision, and guarantee its protection for posterity."

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

"In my view any time a longtime owner, and a guardianship like this, is changing ownership of a property like this, it always causes a little bit of a pause – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their intentions will be. And will they grasp and cherish the house, as in this specific case the Stahl family has?"