🔗 Share this article

The renowned Stahl house, a quintessential example of midcentury modern design, is currently listed for the first time in its complete history.

This cantilevered residence, nestled in the Hollywood Hills area, appeared on the listings this week. The asking price stands at a substantial $25 million.

Stewards Choice to Part With

The Stahl family, who have been the proprietors of the residence for its full 65-year history, released a declaration regarding their decision to sell. They expressed that the dwelling had grown excessively demanding to upkeep.

"This home has been the core of our lives for a long time, but as we’ve grown older, it has become progressively harder to care for it with the attention and energy it so rightfully warrants," wrote the descendants of the original owners.

They added that the time had emerged to find a new "custodian" for the house – "a person who not only recognizes its architectural significance but also understands its place in the cultural fabric of Los Angeles and beyond."

Humble Origins

The origins of the Stahl house trace back to May 1954, when the initial owners purchased a hilly patch of land in the at the time undeveloped Hollywood Hills district for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house growing into a well-known symbol of the city, the owners often pointed out that "nobody famous ever lived here," referring to themselves as a "blue-collar family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Design Undertaking

The original design for the Stahl house was conceived during the summer of 1956. However, many builders were at first reluctant to construct it on the difficult hillside.

In November 1957, the owners interviewed architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to take on the challenge. With assistance from the influential Case Study program, led by a leading magazine editor, the Stahls received subsidies to engage Koenig.

The modernist program "focused on trial and error" and "employing new building materials and erecting in sites that maybe before the technology didn’t really permit," commented an specialist from a regional heritage organization. "All those things are integrated into a site like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, modern and inconceivable in terms of how it was constructed on that plot that everyone else thought, at the time, was unbuildable."

Completion and Famous Legacy

The Stahl house was assigned Case Study house No. 22, and work commenced in May 1959. According to the family, construction totaled "just $37,500" and the home was completed by May 1960. The outcome was "the ultimate vision of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the authority commented.

Soon after construction was finished, a celebrated architectural photographer took what is perhaps the most iconic photograph of the home. Shot through the enormous glass windows, the photograph depicts two women positioned in the home’s living room but appearing to levitate over the Los Angeles skyline.

"I think the lasting effect of the photograph is due to the way it conveys an concept about dwelling in Los Angeles, an ambivalence about being both urban and removed from it," stated a founder of an architectural company and educator at a leading university.

Protected Designation

The home has enjoyed historic cameos in cinema, television and videos, including several well-known 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 added 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 tours are currently sold out through February. In their announcement announcing the sale, the family indicated they would give "ample notice" before ending the tours.

The listing for the home emphasizes finding a purchaser who will preserve the character of the space.

"For connoisseurs of design, advocates of design, or institutions seeking to safeguard an national treasure, there is simply no parallel," the listing say. "This goes beyond a transaction; it is a passing of responsibility – a hunt for the next custodian who will honor the house’s history, appreciate its architectural purity, and secure its preservation for posterity."

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

"I think any time a original family, and a stewardship like this, is being sold of a residence like this, it always gives us a little bit of a concern – because you are unsure what the next owner, what their aims will be. And can they grasp and cherish the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"