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The renowned Stahl house, a quintessential example of mid-century modern architecture, is up for sale for the initial occasion in its complete history.

This suspended home, situated in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood, hit the real estate market this recent week. The listing price stands at an impressive $25 million.

Family Choice to Part With

The Stahl family, who have held title to the property for its full 65-year history, shared a statement regarding their resolution to sell. They stated that the house had proven excessively demanding to upkeep.

"This residence has been the core of our lives for many years, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become progressively harder to look after it with the dedication and vigor it so richly deserves," stated the children of the first owners.

They further stated that the time had come to find a new "guardian" for the house – "someone who not only appreciates its architectural importance but also comprehends its role in the cultural fabric of the city and beyond."

Unassuming Origins

The origins of the Stahl house date to May 1954, when the first owners bought a mountainous plot of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills neighborhood for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house evolving into a famous 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 white-collar house."

Design Undertaking

The initial design for the Stahl house was conceived during the summer of 1956. However, many builders were initially reluctant to construct it on the precarious hillside.

In November 1957, the owners consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to undertake the project. With support from the prominent Case Study program, spearheaded by a prominent magazine editor, the family received subsidies to commission Koenig.

The contemporary program "was about innovation" and "using new resources and constructing in places that maybe earlier the techniques didn’t really allow," stated an expert from a regional conservancy. "Each of these factors are combined into a place like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, progressive and unimaginable in terms of how it was constructed on that site that everyone else considered, at the time, was impossible to build."

Finalization and Cultural Legacy

The Stahl house became Case Study house No. 22, and construction started in May 1959. According to the owners, construction cost "a mere $37,500" and the home was finished by May 1960. The result was "an idealized version of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the specialist added.

Soon after construction was finished, a renowned architectural photographer captured 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 levitate over the city skyline.

"I believe the lasting influence of the image is due to the way it conveys an notion about dwelling in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both metropolitan and detached from it," said a head of an architectural company and educator at a major university.

Cultural Designation

The home has made historic cameos in movies, TV and music videos, including several famous 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 included as a conserved building on the National Register of Historic Places.

Next Stewardship

The home continues to be open for tours, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all appointments are currently sold out through February. In their announcement 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 new owner who will maintain the essence of the space.

"For collectors of style, advocates of design, or institutions seeking to safeguard an iconic work, there is simply no parallel," the details read. "This goes beyond a sale; it is a handover of custody – a hunt for the next steward who will respect the house’s history, value its architectural purity, and secure its protection for future generations."

The authority concurred that the choice of buyer would be a crucial one, given the home’s legacy.

"I believe any time a original family, and a guardianship like this, is being sold of a home like this, it always gives us a little bit of a pause – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their intentions will be. And do they grasp and appreciate the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"