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The famous Stahl house, a epitome of midcentury modern design, is currently listed for the initial occasion in its entire history.

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

Owners Choice to Let Go

The Stahl family, who have held title to the residence for its full 65-year timeline, issued a declaration regarding their choice to sell. They noted that the dwelling had proven too difficult to upkeep.

"This home has been the heart of our lives for many years, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become more difficult to maintain it with the attention and effort it so truly merits," commented the descendants of the initial owners.

They further stated that the time had emerged to find a new "guardian" for the house – "a person who not only appreciates its design legacy but also understands its role in the cultural landscape of LA and further afield."

Modest Inception

The origins of the Stahl house date to May 1954, when the original owners purchased a hilly plot of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills district for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house growing into a well-known representation of the city, the residents often emphasized that "no celebrities ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "average family living in a architectural masterpiece."

Architectural Undertaking

The original design for the Stahl house was conceived during the warm season of 1956. However, many designers were originally wary to erect it on the challenging hillside.

In November 1957, the family met with architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to accept the task. With backing from the notable Case Study program, pioneered by a leading magazine editor, the Stahls received financial aid to hire Koenig.

The progressive program "focused on innovation" and "utilizing new resources and building in sites that maybe before the engineering didn’t really allow," remarked an authority from a city conservancy. "Each of these factors are combined into a place like the Stahl house, which was innovative, modern and unimaginable in terms of how it was erected on that site that everyone else believed, at the time, was unbuildable."

Realization and Cultural Influence

The Stahl house became Case Study house No. 22, and work commenced in May 1959. According to the residents, construction totaled "just $37,500" and the home was finished by May 1960. The outcome was "a perfect representation of what everyone imagines LA is and should be," the authority added.

Soon after construction was finished, a celebrated architectural photographer captured what is arguably the most famous picture of the home. Captured through the enormous glass windows, the photo depicts two women seated in the home’s living room but looking to hover over the LA skyline.

"In my opinion the enduring impact of the photo is due to the way it expresses an concept about dwelling in Los Angeles, an duality about being both metropolitan and separate from it," said a principal of an architectural company and lecturer at a major university.

Protected Designation

The home has enjoyed notable cameos in cinema, broadcast and promos, including several popular 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 added as a preserved site on the National Register of Historic Places.

Next Stewardship

The home is still open for visits, as it has been for the previous 17 years, although all appointments are currently sold out through February. In their release concerning the sale, the family said they would give "plenty of advance notice" before ending the tours.

The property description for the home stresses finding a new owner who will conserve the essence of the space.

"For connoisseurs of style, patrons of design, or organizations seeking to preserve an national treasure, there is simply no parallel," the description say. "This goes beyond a sale; it is a handover of custody – a quest for the next guardian who will honor the house’s past, value its design integrity, and guarantee its conservation for generations to come."

The authority concurred that the selection of new owner would be a vital one, given the home’s past.

"In my view any time a original family, and a stewardship like this, is being sold of a home like this, it always gives us a little bit of a pause – because you cannot predict what the next owner, what their intentions will be. And can they grasp and value the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"