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The renowned Stahl house, a epitome of midcentury modern architectural design, is up for sale for the very first time in its complete history.

This cantilevered home, nestled in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood, was listed on the real estate market this past week. The listing price stands at a notable $25 million.

Owners Decision to Part With

The Stahl family, who have held title to the property for its entire 65-year history, shared a announcement regarding their choice to sell. They noted that the dwelling had grown excessively demanding to maintain.

"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 care and effort it so rightfully warrants," wrote the offspring of the original owners.

They continued that the period had arrived to find a new "steward" for the house – "a person who not only appreciates its architectural importance but also understands its place in the cultural fabric of the city and elsewhere."

Unassuming Beginnings

The origins of the Stahl house date to May 1954, when the first owners acquired a mountainous patch of land in the previously undeveloped Hollywood Hills neighborhood for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house becoming a renowned symbol of the city, the family often stressed that "nobody famous ever lived here," describing themselves as a "working-class family living in a white-collar house."

Construction Undertaking

The first design for the Stahl house was created during the summer months of 1956. However, many designers were at first reluctant to build it on the challenging hillside.

In November 1957, the family consulted architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to undertake the challenge. With support from the notable Case Study program, led by a leading magazine editor, the Stahls received financial aid to engage Koenig.

The progressive program "centered around innovation" and "using new resources and constructing in places that maybe earlier the techniques didn’t really permit," remarked an expert from a regional conservancy. "All these elements are integrated into a site like the Stahl house, which was avant-garde, contemporary and unimaginable in terms of how it was built on that plot that everyone else considered, at the time, was impossible to build."

Completion and Iconic Legacy

The Stahl house was designated Case Study house No. 22, and building began in May 1959. According to the family, construction cost "a mere $37,500" and the home was move-in ready by May 1960. The result was "a perfect representation of what everyone imagines LA is and should be," the specialist commented.

Soon after the build ended, a renowned architectural photographer shot what is possibly the most famous image of the home. Captured through the enormous glass windows, the image depicts two women seated in the home’s living room but seeming to hover over the city skyline.

"In my opinion the long-standing effect of the image is due to the way it communicates an notion about dwelling in Los Angeles, an duality about being both in the city and separate from it," stated a founder of an architectural company and adjunct professor at a prominent university.

Cultural Recognition

The home has had memorable appearances in film, broadcast and promos, including several popular titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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

Coming Stewardship

The home remains open for visits, as it has been for the last 17 years, although all slots are currently reserved through February. In their announcement announcing the sale, the family indicated they would give "plenty of advance notice" before stopping the tours.

The sales details for the home highlights finding a new owner who will maintain the spirit of the space.

"For enthusiasts of architecture, supporters of architecture, or institutions seeking to protect an iconic work, there is simply no equal," the details say. "This is more than a transaction; it is a transfer of stewardship – a search for the next guardian who will celebrate the house’s legacy, value its architectural purity, and ensure its protection for posterity."

The authority affirmed that the choice of purchaser would be a crucial one, given the home’s legacy.

"I think any time a original family, and a stewardship like this, is transferring hands of a property like this, it always creates a little bit of a hesitation – because you never know what the next owner, what their aims will be. And can they comprehend and cherish the house, as in this particular case the Stahl family has?"