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

This suspended residence, nestled in the Hollywood Hills, hit the market this week. The listing price stands at a substantial $25 million.

Stewards Choice to Sell

The Stahl family, who have held title to the home for its complete 65-year history, issued a statement regarding their resolution to sell. They expressed that the dwelling had become too difficult to care for.

"This house has been the center of our lives for decades, but as we’ve grown older, it has become progressively harder to look after it with the dedication and energy it so rightfully warrants," wrote the children of the original owners.

They continued that the moment had emerged to find a new "guardian" for the house – "someone who not only appreciates its architectural importance but also understands its place in the cultural landscape of the city and further afield."

Unassuming Beginnings

The beginnings of the Stahl house date to May 1954, when the first owners purchased a sloped parcel of land in the at the time undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house evolving into a well-known representation of the city, the residents often pointed out that "no famous individuals ever lived here," describing themselves as a "working-class family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Construction Feat

The initial design for the Stahl house was conceived during the warm season of 1956. However, many designers were at first wary to build it on the difficult hillside.

In November 1957, the Stahls consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to accept the project. With backing from the influential Case Study program, pioneered by a prominent magazine editor, the owners received subsidies to engage Koenig.

The progressive program "focused on innovation" and "utilizing new materials and constructing in sites that maybe before the engineering didn’t really enable," stated an specialist from a city conservancy. "Each of these factors are integrated into a property like the Stahl house, which was innovative, contemporary and unthinkable in terms of how it was erected on that plot that everyone else believed, at the time, was not feasible."

Finalization and Cultural Influence

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

Soon after the build ended, a celebrated architectural photographer captured what is perhaps the most well-known picture of the home. Captured through the enormous glass windows, the image depicts two women sitting in the home’s living room but seeming to hover over the Los Angeles skyline.

"I think the enduring influence of this image is due to the way it communicates an idea about dwelling in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both metropolitan and separate from it," said a head of an architectural company and educator at a leading university.

Cultural Status

The home has had memorable appearances in movies, broadcast and videos, including several popular 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 listed as a conserved building on the National Register of Historic Places.

Future Custodianship

The home continues to be open for tours, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all tours are currently reserved through February. In their statement regarding the sale, the family stated they would give "ample notice" before discontinuing the tours.

The listing for the home emphasizes finding a buyer who will conserve the essence of the space.

"For collectors of architecture, patrons of building, or institutions seeking to safeguard an national treasure, there is simply nothing comparable," the details state. "This is not merely a purchase; it is a transfer of stewardship – a search for the next custodian who will celebrate the house’s legacy, respect its design integrity, and guarantee its preservation for posterity."

The specialist concurred that the choice of buyer would be a critical one, given the home’s legacy.

"I think any time a original family, and a stewardship like this, is transferring hands of a residence 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 can they comprehend and appreciate the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"