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The famous Stahl house, a paragon of mid-century modern architecture, is now available for the initial occasion in its complete history.

This suspended residence, nestled in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood, was listed on the real estate market this week. The listing price stands at an impressive $25 million.

Family Decision to Let Go

The Stahl family, who have held title to the residence for its full 65-year history, issued a declaration regarding their choice to sell. They stated that the house had proven excessively demanding to upkeep.

"This residence has been the center of our lives for many years, but as we’ve grown older, it has become more difficult to care for it with the dedication and vigor it so richly deserves," wrote the children of the initial owners.

They further stated that the period had emerged to find a new "steward" for the house – "an individual who not only values its architectural importance but also comprehends its place in the cultural landscape of LA and beyond."

Humble Inception

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

Despite the Stahl house becoming a well-known representation of the city, the family often pointed out that "no famous individuals ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "working-class family living in a luxury house."

Design Undertaking

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

In November 1957, the family consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to accept the task. With assistance from the prominent Case Study program, led by a prominent magazine editor, the family received financial aid to commission Koenig.

The modernist program "centered around trial and error" and "using new building materials and building in sites that maybe earlier the techniques didn’t really enable," remarked an specialist from a city preservation society. "Each of these factors are integrated into a site like the Stahl house, which was innovative, contemporary and inconceivable in terms of how it was built on that site that everyone else considered, at the time, was impossible to build."

Finalization and Cultural Impact

The Stahl house became Case Study house No. 22, and building started in May 1959. According to the owners, construction totaled "a mere $37,500" and the home was completed by May 1960. The final product was "the ultimate vision of what everyone envisions LA is and should be," the specialist added.

Soon after completion, a famous architectural photographer took what is possibly the most famous image of the home. Taken through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the photo depicts two women sitting in the home’s living room but appearing to float over the city skyline.

"I believe the enduring influence of this image is due to the way it expresses an concept about residing in Los Angeles, an duality about being both in the city and detached from it," said a founder of an architectural company and adjunct professor at a prominent university.

Protected Status

The home has made memorable features in film, TV and videos, including several popular titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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

Next Custodianship

The home continues to be open for visits, as it has been for the previous 17 years, although all tours are currently sold out through February. In their release concerning the sale, the family said they would give "sufficient warning" before stopping the tours.

The listing for the home stresses finding a buyer who will maintain the character of the space.

"For connoisseurs of style, patrons of architecture, or organizations seeking to protect an iconic work, there is simply no parallel," the details read. "This is not merely a transaction; it is a handover of custody – a hunt for the next guardian who will honor the house’s history, value its design integrity, and ensure its preservation for future generations."

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

"I think any time a long-term steward, and a guardianship like this, is transferring hands of a property like this, it always causes a little bit of a pause – because you never know what the next owner, what their intentions will be. And will they grasp and appreciate the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"