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The renowned Stahl house, a quintessential example of modernist architectural design, is now available for the first time in its entire history.

This suspended dwelling, nestled in the Hollywood Hills area, was listed on the market this recent week. The listing price stands at an impressive $25 million.

Owners Decision to Sell

The Stahl family, who have owned the home for its complete 65-year history, released a statement regarding their decision to sell. They stated that the property had proven excessively demanding to maintain.

"This residence has been the center of our lives for decades, but as we’ve aged, it has become progressively harder to care for it with the dedication and vigor it so rightfully warrants," wrote the offspring of the first owners.

They further stated that the period had come to find a new "guardian" for the house – "a person who not only recognizes its architectural importance but also grasps its place in the cultural landscape of Los Angeles and elsewhere."

Unassuming Origins

The origins of the Stahl house go back to May 1954, when the first owners purchased a hilly parcel of land in the then undeveloped Hollywood Hills district for $13,500.

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

Design Undertaking

The original design for the Stahl house was created during the warm season of 1956. However, many builders were originally wary to construct it on the difficult hillside.

In November 1957, the family consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to undertake the task. With assistance from the influential Case Study program, spearheaded by a leading magazine editor, the Stahls received support to commission Koenig.

The contemporary program "centered around trial and error" and "utilizing new building materials and constructing in locations that maybe previously the engineering 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, modern and unthinkable in terms of how it was built on that plot that everyone else believed, at the time, was unbuildable."

Realization and Famous Impact

The Stahl house was assigned Case Study house No. 22, and construction started in May 1959. According to the owners, construction amounted to "just $37,500" and the home was finished by May 1960. The result was "the ultimate vision of what everyone envisions LA is and should be," the specialist commented.

Soon after construction was finished, a renowned architectural photographer took what is arguably the most well-known image of the home. Shot through the full-length glass windows, the photograph shows two women sitting in the home’s living room but appearing to float over the city skyline.

"In my opinion the long-standing impact of this photograph is due to the way it communicates an idea about residing in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both in the city and removed from it," commented a principal of an architectural firm and lecturer at a leading university.

Cultural Status

The home has had memorable appearances in cinema, broadcast and music videos, including several famous titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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

Coming Custodianship

The home is still open for visits, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all tours are currently sold out through February. In their statement concerning the sale, the family indicated they would give "sufficient warning" before stopping the tours.

The property description for the home highlights finding a buyer who will maintain the character of the space.

"For enthusiasts of architecture, patrons of design, or organizations seeking to safeguard an national treasure, there is simply nothing comparable," the description state. "This is not merely a transaction; it is a handover of custody – a quest for the next custodian who will respect the house’s history, value its design integrity, and secure its protection for posterity."

The authority concurred that the decision of buyer would be a vital one, given the home’s history.

"I think any time a original family, and a custodianship like this, is changing ownership of a home like this, it always gives us a little bit of a concern – because you never know what the next owner, what their aims will be. And can they grasp and cherish the house, as in this unique case the Stahl family has?"