🔗 Share this article

The celebrated Stahl house, a paragon of midcentury modern design, is now available for the very first time in its entire history.

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

Owners Move to Sell

The Stahl family, who have held title to the property for its complete 65-year existence, issued a statement regarding their resolution to sell. They noted that the dwelling had proven excessively demanding to upkeep.

"This home has been the heart of our lives for many years, but as we’ve aged, it has become progressively harder to care for it with the care and effort it so rightfully warrants," stated the children of the original owners.

They continued that the moment had come to find a new "steward" for the house – "a person who not only values its architectural significance but also comprehends its place in the cultural history of LA and beyond."

Modest Inception

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

Despite the Stahl house becoming a renowned representation of the city, the family often emphasized that "no famous individuals ever lived here," referring to themselves as a "working-class family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Construction Challenge

The initial design for the Stahl house was created during the summer of 1956. However, many architects were initially hesitant to erect it on the precarious hillside.

In November 1957, the family interviewed architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to undertake the task. With backing from the prominent Case Study program, pioneered by a leading magazine editor, the family received financial aid to commission Koenig.

The contemporary program "was about experimentation" and "using new building materials and erecting in places that maybe previously the engineering didn’t really permit," commented an authority from a local conservancy. "Each of these factors are combined into a place like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, contemporary and unthinkable in terms of how it was built on that plot that everyone else considered, at the time, was unbuildable."

Finalization and Iconic Legacy

The Stahl house became Case Study house No. 22, and construction started in May 1959. According to the residents, construction totaled "just $37,500" and the home was completed by May 1960. The outcome was "an idealized version of what everyone envisions LA is and should be," the specialist commented.

Soon after the build ended, a celebrated architectural photographer took what is perhaps the most famous photograph of the home. Shot through the enormous glass windows, the photo features two women sitting in the home’s living room but seeming to hover over the city skyline.

"I think the lasting influence of that image is due to the way it expresses an idea about dwelling in Los Angeles, an ambivalence about being both urban and separate from it," stated a principal of an architectural company and adjunct professor at a major university.

Historic Status

The home has had historic appearances in film, broadcast and videos, including several popular titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1999, the city designated the Stahl house a heritage site, and in 2013, the house was added as a protected property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Future Stewardship

The home continues to be open for tours, as it has been for the previous 17 years, although all appointments are currently reserved through February. In their statement concerning the sale, the family stated they would give "ample notice" before ending the tours.

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

"For connoisseurs of design, advocates of building, or institutions seeking to preserve an national treasure, there is simply nothing comparable," the details say. "This is more than a transaction; it is a transfer of stewardship – a quest for the next custodian who will honor the house’s past, appreciate its architectural purity, and secure its conservation for generations to come."

The expert agreed that the decision of purchaser would be a vital one, given the home’s past.

"I believe any time a longtime owner, and a guardianship like this, is transferring hands of a home 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 understand and value the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"