The renowned Stahl house, a quintessential example of mid-century modern architecture, is up for sale for the initial occasion in its entire history.
This suspended home, situated in the Hollywood Hills, appeared on the real estate market this past week. The price tag stands at an impressive $25 million.
The Stahl family, who have been the proprietors of the home for its full 65-year timeline, issued a announcement regarding their choice to sell. They expressed that the property had grown excessively demanding to maintain.
"This home has been the heart of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become more difficult to care for it with the attention and effort it so richly deserves," commented the descendants of the initial owners.
They continued that the period had come to find a new "custodian" for the house – "an individual who not only appreciates its design legacy but also grasps its position in the cultural landscape of LA and beyond."
The origins of the Stahl house trace back to May 1954, when the original owners bought a hilly plot of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills district for $13,500.
Despite the Stahl house evolving into a famous representation of the city, the owners often pointed out that "nobody famous ever lived here," referring to themselves as a "blue-collar family living in a white-collar house."
The initial design for the Stahl house was developed during the summer months of 1956. However, many architects were originally hesitant to erect it on the precarious hillside.
In November 1957, the owners interviewed architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to undertake the project. With support from the notable Case Study program, led by a prominent magazine editor, the family received subsidies to hire Koenig.
The contemporary program "was about innovation" and "utilizing new building materials and erecting in sites that maybe before the techniques didn’t really enable," commented an authority from a regional heritage organization. "All those things are combined into a site like the Stahl house, which was innovative, contemporary and inconceivable in terms of how it was built on that plot that everyone else thought, at the time, was impossible to build."
The Stahl house was assigned Case Study house No. 22, and construction started in May 1959. According to the residents, construction cost "just $37,500" and the home was completed by May 1960. The final product was "the ultimate vision of what everyone envisions LA is and should be," the authority added.
Soon after the build ended, a famous architectural photographer captured what is perhaps the most well-known photograph of the home. Shot through the enormous glass windows, the photograph shows two women seated in the home’s living room but looking to hover over the city skyline.
"I believe the enduring impact of the photo is due to the way it communicates an idea about dwelling in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both urban and separate from it," said a founder of an architectural practice and educator at a major university.
The home has enjoyed historic cameos in film, broadcast and promos, including several famous 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 added as a preserved site on the National Register of Historic Places.
The home is still open for visits, as it has been for the previous 17 years, although all tours are currently reserved through February. In their announcement regarding the sale, the family indicated they would give "plenty of advance notice" before discontinuing the tours.
The listing for the home stresses finding a purchaser who will preserve the essence of the space.
"For connoisseurs of architecture, advocates of architecture, or organizations seeking to safeguard an iconic work, there is simply no parallel," the listing say. "This goes beyond a sale; it is a handover of custody – a hunt for the next steward who will celebrate the house’s history, appreciate its architectural purity, and secure its conservation for generations to come."
The specialist affirmed that the choice of buyer would be a critical one, given the home’s history.
"In my view any time a long-term steward, and a guardianship like this, is transferring hands of a residence like this, it always gives us a little bit of a concern – because you are unsure what the next owner, what their intentions will be. And can they comprehend and appreciate the house, as in this specific case the Stahl family has?"
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