🔗 Share this article

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

This cantilevered home, perched in the Hollywood Hills area, was listed on the real estate market this recent week. The listing price stands at an impressive $25 million.

Stewards Choice to Let Go

The Stahl family, who have owned the home for its entire 65-year history, issued a announcement regarding their decision to sell. They noted that the property had grown increasingly challenging to care for.

"This residence has been the core of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become progressively harder to maintain it with the dedication and effort it so rightfully warrants," stated the children of the original owners.

They added that the moment had arrived to find a new "guardian" for the house – "an individual who not only recognizes its architectural significance but also comprehends its position in the cultural fabric of LA and further afield."

Unassuming Beginnings

The inception of the Stahl house date to May 1954, when the initial owners bought a hilly patch of land in the at the time undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house growing into a well-known symbol of the city, the family often emphasized that "no celebrities ever lived here," referring to themselves as a "working-class family living in a white-collar house."

Architectural Feat

The original design for the Stahl house was developed during the summer of 1956. However, many designers were at first hesitant to construct it on the challenging hillside.

In November 1957, the family consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who decided to accept the task. With support from the influential Case Study program, led by a key magazine editor, the family received subsidies to commission Koenig.

The modernist program "centered around innovation" and "utilizing new building materials and erecting in sites that maybe earlier the technology didn’t really enable," commented an specialist from a city heritage organization. "Each of these factors are wrapped up into a site like the Stahl house, which was cutting-edge, modern and unthinkable in terms of how it was constructed on that plot that everyone else considered, at the time, was unbuildable."

Completion and Famous Influence

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

Soon after completion, a famous architectural photographer captured what is arguably the most iconic picture of the home. Taken through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the photograph depicts two women sitting in the home’s living room but seeming to float over the LA skyline.

"I think the enduring effect of the image is due to the way it communicates an concept about dwelling in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both in the city and detached from it," said a principal of an architectural firm and educator at a prominent university.

Protected Status

The home has enjoyed historic features in cinema, TV and promos, including several famous titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1999, the city recognized the Stahl house a historic-cultural landmark, and in 2013, the house was listed as a conserved building on the National Register of Historic Places.

Future Ownership

The home remains open for public viewings, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all slots are currently sold out through February. In their statement regarding the sale, the family indicated they would give "ample notice" before discontinuing the tours.

The sales details for the home highlights finding a buyer who will conserve the character of the space.

"For enthusiasts of style, supporters of architecture, or organizations seeking to preserve an iconic work, there is simply no parallel," the description state. "This is not merely a sale; it is a transfer of stewardship – a quest for the next guardian who will respect the house’s past, respect its design integrity, and ensure its preservation for posterity."

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

"I believe any time a long-term steward, and a guardianship like this, is changing ownership of a home like this, it always causes a little bit of a hesitation – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their plans will be. And do they comprehend and cherish the house, as in this specific case the Stahl family has?"