🔗 Share this article

The famous Stahl house, a quintessential example of mid-century modern architecture, is now available for the first time in its complete history.

This cantilevered residence, situated in the Hollywood Hills area, appeared on the listings this past week. The listing price stands at an impressive $25 million.

Family Decision to Part With

The Stahl family, who have owned the residence for its entire 65-year existence, issued a statement regarding their resolution to sell. They noted that the house had grown excessively demanding to maintain.

"This house has been the core of our lives for decades, but as we’ve grown older, it has become increasingly challenging to look after it with the care and vigor it so richly deserves," wrote the children of the first owners.

They further stated that the period had emerged to find a new "guardian" for the house – "an individual who not only appreciates its architectural importance but also grasps its position in the cultural history of LA and beyond."

Humble Beginnings

The inception of the Stahl house go back to May 1954, when the initial owners acquired a sloped plot of land in the at the time undeveloped Hollywood Hills district for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house growing into a famous symbol of the city, the family often stressed that "nobody famous ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "blue-collar family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Architectural Undertaking

The original design for the Stahl house was created during the warm season of 1956. However, many architects were initially wary to erect it on the precarious hillside.

In November 1957, the family consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to take on the task. With support from the influential Case Study program, pioneered by a leading magazine editor, the owners received financial aid to commission Koenig.

The modernist program "focused on innovation" and "employing new building materials and constructing in sites that maybe earlier the techniques didn’t really enable," commented an specialist from a local conservancy. "All those things are combined into a property like the Stahl house, which was innovative, contemporary and unthinkable in terms of how it was built on that plot that everyone else believed, at the time, was unbuildable."

Realization and Famous Influence

The Stahl house was assigned Case Study house No. 22, and construction began in May 1959. According to the owners, construction totaled "a mere $37,500" and the home was completed by May 1960. The final product was "an idealized version of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the authority noted.

Soon after construction was finished, a renowned architectural photographer shot what is perhaps the most iconic photograph of the home. Taken through the enormous glass windows, the photograph features two women positioned in the home’s living room but seeming to float over the LA skyline.

"I believe the long-standing influence of the image is due to the way it expresses an notion about dwelling in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both in the city and detached from it," commented a founder of an architectural firm and adjunct professor at a leading university.

Cultural Designation

The home has made historic cameos 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 protected monument, and in 2013, the house was included as a protected property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Future Ownership

The home remains open for tours, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all appointments are currently reserved through February. In their announcement concerning the sale, the family said they would give "ample notice" before stopping the tours.

The sales details for the home emphasizes finding a new owner who will maintain the essence of the space.

"For enthusiasts of style, advocates of architecture, or entities seeking to protect an American masterpiece, there is simply no parallel," the description say. "This is more than a transaction; it is a handover of custody – a hunt for the next custodian who will celebrate the house’s legacy, respect its architectural purity, and secure its preservation for posterity."

The expert affirmed that the decision of buyer would be a crucial one, given the home’s history.

"I think any time a original family, and a guardianship like this, is transferring hands of a property like this, it always gives us a little bit of a pause – because you are unsure what the next owner, what their plans will be. And will they grasp and value the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"