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The famous Stahl house, a quintessential example of modernist design, is up for sale for the first time in its complete history.

This suspended dwelling, perched in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood, was listed on the market this past week. The asking price stands at a substantial $25 million.

Stewards Decision to Part With

The Stahl family, who have been the proprietors of the property for its entire 65-year timeline, issued a statement regarding their decision to sell. They expressed that the dwelling had proven excessively demanding to maintain.

"This house has been the center of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become progressively harder to care for it with the dedication and energy it so rightfully warrants," stated the children of the initial owners.

They added that the time had come to find a new "steward" for the house – "an individual who not only recognizes its architectural significance but also understands its place in the cultural fabric of the city and beyond."

Unassuming Beginnings

The origins of the Stahl house date to May 1954, when the first owners purchased a mountainous parcel of land in the at the time undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house growing into a famous icon of the city, the owners often pointed out that "no famous individuals ever lived here," referring to themselves as a "average family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Construction Undertaking

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

In November 1957, the family consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to accept the task. With support from the prominent Case Study program, spearheaded by a leading magazine editor, the family received financial aid to hire Koenig.

The modernist program "was about trial and error" and "utilizing new materials and constructing in places that maybe before the engineering didn’t really enable," stated an expert from a local preservation society. "Each of these factors are wrapped up into a place like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, contemporary and unimaginable in terms of how it was constructed on that plot that everyone else believed, at the time, was impossible to build."

Finalization and Cultural Legacy

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

Soon after construction was finished, a famous architectural photographer captured what is perhaps the most well-known image of the home. Taken through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the image depicts two women sitting in the home’s living room but seeming to hover over the city skyline.

"In my opinion the lasting impact of the photo is due to the way it expresses an idea about dwelling in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both metropolitan and detached from it," said a founder of an architectural firm and educator at a leading university.

Cultural Recognition

The home has had historic appearances in film, TV and music videos, including several well-known 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 included as a conserved building on the National Register of Historic Places.

Future Stewardship

The home remains open for tours, as it has been for the previous 17 years, although all appointments are currently fully booked through February. In their release regarding the sale, the family said they would give "plenty of advance notice" before ending the tours.

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

"For enthusiasts of style, patrons of design, or institutions seeking to safeguard an national treasure, there is simply no parallel," the details say. "This is not merely a sale; it is a passing of responsibility – a quest for the next steward who will honor the house’s past, respect its architectural purity, and ensure its preservation for posterity."

The expert affirmed that the selection of buyer would be a vital one, given the home’s legacy.

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