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

This overhanging home, nestled in the Hollywood Hills, was listed on the listings this week. The price tag stands at an impressive $25 million.

Owners Decision to Let Go

The Stahl family, who have owned the property for its entire 65-year timeline, issued a statement regarding their resolution to sell. They stated that the dwelling had proven too difficult to care for.

"This home has been the heart of our lives for many years, but as we’ve aged, it has become increasingly challenging to maintain it with the dedication and vigor it so truly merits," stated the offspring of the initial owners.

They added that the period had emerged to find a new "guardian" for the house – "an individual who not only recognizes its design legacy but also understands its position in the cultural history of the city and elsewhere."

Unassuming Inception

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

Despite the Stahl house growing into a renowned icon of the city, the residents often stressed that "no famous individuals ever lived here," referring to themselves as a "average family living in a luxury house."

Construction Feat

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

In November 1957, the owners consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who consented to undertake the challenge. With assistance from the notable Case Study program, spearheaded by a leading magazine editor, the family received support to engage Koenig.

The progressive program "was about innovation" and "employing new materials and erecting in sites that maybe previously the techniques didn’t really allow," stated an authority from a regional preservation society. "All these elements are integrated into a place like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, contemporary and unimaginable in terms of how it was built on that location that everyone else considered, at the time, was impossible to build."

Finalization and Iconic Impact

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

Soon after construction was finished, a celebrated architectural photographer captured what is possibly the most well-known image of the home. Captured through the full-length glass windows, the photo depicts two women positioned in the home’s living room but appearing to hover over the LA skyline.

"I think the enduring influence of the image is due to the way it communicates an notion about dwelling in Los Angeles, an duality about being both urban and removed from it," commented a principal of an architectural firm and lecturer at a major university.

Cultural Recognition

The home has enjoyed notable features in film, TV and music videos, including several well-known titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1999, the city designated the Stahl house a historic-cultural landmark, and in 2013, the house was added as a protected property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Future Custodianship

The home continues to be open for public viewings, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all appointments are currently sold out through February. In their release regarding the sale, the family said they would give "sufficient warning" before discontinuing the tours.

The sales details for the home stresses finding a buyer who will conserve the essence of the space.

"For enthusiasts of architecture, advocates of building, or entities seeking to safeguard an national treasure, there is simply no parallel," the description say. "This is more than a purchase; it is a transfer of stewardship – a search for the next steward who will celebrate the house’s history, appreciate its original vision, and guarantee its conservation for generations to come."

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

"I think any time a long-term steward, and a custodianship like this, is transferring hands of a home like this, it always creates a little bit of a concern – because you never know what the next owner, what their plans will be. And will they grasp and appreciate the house, as in this specific case the Stahl family has?"