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The celebrated Stahl house, a epitome of midcentury modern architectural design, is currently listed for the very first time in its complete history.

This suspended dwelling, situated in the Hollywood Hills, hit the listings this week. The listing price stands at a substantial $25 million.

Owners Choice to Sell

The Stahl family, who have owned the residence for its entire 65-year history, shared a declaration regarding their decision to sell. They noted that the property had grown increasingly challenging to maintain.

"This residence has been the heart of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become increasingly challenging to maintain it with the care and effort it so richly deserves," wrote the descendants of the initial owners.

They added that the period had emerged to find a new "steward" for the house – "a person who not only appreciates its architectural importance but also understands its place in the cultural history of Los Angeles and beyond."

Humble Beginnings

The origins of the Stahl house go back to May 1954, when the original owners bought a hilly plot of land in the at the time undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

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

Architectural Challenge

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

In November 1957, the family met with architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to take on the project. With support from the notable Case Study program, pioneered by a leading magazine editor, the Stahls received subsidies to commission Koenig.

The progressive program "was about innovation" and "using new resources and erecting in locations that maybe before the engineering didn’t really allow," remarked an expert from a regional preservation society. "All these elements are wrapped up into a place like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, contemporary and inconceivable in terms of how it was erected on that site that everyone else considered, at the time, was impossible to build."

Finalization and Cultural Impact

The Stahl house was assigned Case Study house No. 22, and work started in May 1959. According to the family, construction cost "only $37,500" and the home was completed by May 1960. The result was "an idealized version of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the authority added.

Soon after construction was finished, a renowned architectural photographer took what is arguably the most well-known picture of the home. Shot through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the photograph features two women positioned in the home’s living room but appearing to levitate over the city skyline.

"I believe the long-standing influence of that photograph is due to the way it communicates an notion about residing in Los Angeles, an duality about being both metropolitan and detached from it," said a founder of an architectural company and adjunct professor at a major university.

Cultural Status

The home has enjoyed notable appearances in cinema, broadcast and music videos, including several well-known titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1999, the city recognized the Stahl house a historic-cultural landmark, and in 2013, the house was listed as a conserved building on the National Register of Historic Places.

Next Custodianship

The home is still open for visits, as it has been for the past 17 years, although all appointments are currently reserved through February. In their release concerning the sale, the family stated they would give "plenty of advance notice" before ending the tours.

The sales details for the home stresses finding a purchaser who will preserve the spirit of the space.

"For connoisseurs of architecture, supporters of architecture, or entities seeking to safeguard an American masterpiece, there is simply no equal," the details read. "This goes beyond a sale; it is a transfer of stewardship – a search for the next guardian who will respect the house’s past, value its design integrity, and ensure its protection for generations to come."

The expert agreed that the decision of new owner would be a vital one, given the home’s legacy.

"I think any time a long-term steward, and a guardianship like this, is transferring hands of a residence like this, it always gives us a little bit of a concern – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their aims will be. And do they understand and appreciate the house, as in this specific case the Stahl family has?"