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The famous Stahl house, a epitome of midcentury modern architectural design, is up for sale for the first time in its complete history.

This cantilevered residence, situated in the Hollywood Hills area, hit the market this past week. The price tag stands at an impressive $25 million.

Family Choice to Part With

The Stahl family, who have been the proprietors of the property for its complete 65-year history, issued a declaration regarding their decision to sell. They noted that the dwelling had become too difficult to upkeep.

"This residence has been the heart of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become increasingly challenging to look after it with the attention and energy it so richly deserves," stated the descendants of the original owners.

They added that the period had come to find a new "guardian" for the house – "someone who not only values its design legacy but also understands its role in the cultural landscape of the city and beyond."

Unassuming Beginnings

The beginnings of the Stahl house go back to May 1954, when the original owners acquired a mountainous parcel of land in the at the time undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house becoming a famous icon of the city, the owners often stressed that "no famous individuals ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "blue-collar family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Architectural Challenge

The initial design for the Stahl house was developed during the warm season of 1956. However, many architects were at first reluctant to construct it on the challenging hillside.

In November 1957, the family interviewed architect Pierre Koenig, who consented to accept the challenge. With support from the prominent Case Study program, led by a prominent magazine editor, the owners received subsidies to commission Koenig.

The contemporary program "centered around innovation" and "employing new resources and constructing in sites that maybe before the engineering didn’t really allow," commented an authority from a regional conservancy. "Each of these factors are combined into a site like the Stahl house, which was cutting-edge, progressive and inconceivable in terms of how it was erected on that site that everyone else believed, at the time, was unbuildable."

Realization and Cultural Legacy

The Stahl house was assigned Case Study house No. 22, and work started in May 1959. According to the owners, construction cost "just $37,500" and the home was finished by May 1960. The outcome was "a perfect representation of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the expert noted.

Soon after the build ended, a famous architectural photographer captured what is possibly the most famous photograph of the home. Captured through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the photograph depicts two women sitting in the home’s living room but appearing to levitate over the city skyline.

"I believe the lasting impact of that photo is due to the way it conveys an concept about living in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both metropolitan and detached from it," commented a principal of an architectural firm and lecturer at a prominent university.

Historic Designation

The home has had notable features in cinema, TV and promos, including several well-known titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1999, the city recognized the Stahl house a heritage site, and in 2013, the house was included as a conserved building on the National Register of Historic Places.

Next Custodianship

The home remains open for tours, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all appointments are currently reserved through February. In their announcement announcing the sale, the family indicated they would give "ample notice" before discontinuing the tours.

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

"For connoisseurs of style, advocates of building, or institutions seeking to safeguard an national treasure, there is simply no equal," the description say. "This is more than a purchase; it is a passing of responsibility – a quest for the next steward who will celebrate the house’s legacy, value its design integrity, and guarantee its preservation for posterity."

The expert concurred that the selection of purchaser would be a crucial one, given the home’s legacy.

"In my view any time a original family, and a custodianship like this, is being sold of a home like this, it always creates a little bit of a pause – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their aims will be. And do they understand and appreciate the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"