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The famous Stahl house, a paragon of mid-century modern design, is up for sale for the very first time in its complete history.

This overhanging home, perched in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood, hit the listings this past week. The asking price stands at an impressive $25 million.

Family Move to Part With

The Stahl family, who have held title to the residence for its entire 65-year existence, issued a announcement regarding their resolution to sell. They noted that the house had grown increasingly challenging to upkeep.

"This residence has been the heart of our lives for decades, but as we’ve aged, it has become increasingly challenging to look after it with the dedication and energy it so richly deserves," commented the descendants of the first owners.

They continued that the moment had emerged to find a new "guardian" for the house – "someone who not only appreciates its design legacy but also grasps its role in the cultural fabric of LA and beyond."

Modest Origins

The origins of the Stahl house trace back to May 1954, when the original owners bought a sloped plot of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills district for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house evolving into a well-known representation of the city, the family often stressed that "no celebrities ever lived here," referring to themselves as a "working-class family living in a luxury house."

Design Undertaking

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

In November 1957, the Stahls interviewed architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to take on the challenge. With support from the notable Case Study program, spearheaded by a prominent magazine editor, the family received subsidies to commission Koenig.

The contemporary program "centered around experimentation" and "using new materials and erecting in locations that maybe earlier the engineering didn’t really permit," remarked an expert from a regional preservation society. "All these elements are integrated into a property like the Stahl house, which was innovative, progressive and unthinkable in terms of how it was erected on that plot that everyone else believed, at the time, was unbuildable."

Realization and Iconic Impact

The Stahl house was designated Case Study house No. 22, and work began 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 "an idealized version of what everyone imagines LA is and should be," the expert added.

Soon after construction was finished, a famous architectural photographer shot what is arguably the most iconic picture of the home. Shot through the full-length glass windows, the image depicts two women positioned in the home’s living room but seeming to float over the LA skyline.

"I believe the long-standing effect of this photograph is due to the way it communicates an concept about residing in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both in the city and separate from it," said a principal of an architectural firm and educator at a leading university.

Cultural Recognition

The home has enjoyed historic cameos in cinema, broadcast and music videos, including several famous titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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

Next Ownership

The home remains open for tours, as it has been for the previous 17 years, although all tours are currently reserved through February. In their release concerning the sale, the family stated they would give "sufficient warning" before ending the tours.

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

"For connoisseurs of architecture, supporters of design, or institutions seeking to preserve an iconic work, there is simply no equal," the listing state. "This is not merely a purchase; it is a transfer of stewardship – a hunt for the next custodian who will respect the house’s history, value its design integrity, and secure its protection for future generations."

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

"In my view any time a original family, and a custodianship like this, is being sold of a property like this, it always gives us a little bit of a concern – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their plans will be. And will they understand and value the house, as in this unique case the Stahl family has?"