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The renowned Stahl house, a epitome of modernist architectural design, is currently listed for the very first time in its complete history.

This cantilevered home, perched in the Hollywood Hills area, appeared on the listings this week. The listing price stands at an impressive $25 million.

Stewards Move to Sell

The Stahl family, who have owned the home for its full 65-year history, issued a announcement regarding their decision to sell. They expressed that the house had grown excessively demanding to care for.

"This residence has been the core of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become more difficult to care for it with the attention and energy it so richly deserves," wrote the offspring of the original owners.

They further stated that the period had come to find a new "custodian" for the house – "an individual who not only recognizes its architectural significance but also comprehends its place in the cultural history of the city and further afield."

Unassuming Origins

The origins of the Stahl house date to May 1954, when the first owners purchased a hilly parcel of land in the at the time undeveloped Hollywood Hills area for $13,500.

Despite the Stahl house evolving into a famous symbol of the city, the owners often pointed out that "no famous individuals ever lived here," characterizing themselves as a "average family living in a white-collar house."

Construction Feat

The original design for the Stahl house was conceived during the warm season of 1956. However, many architects were initially hesitant to erect it on the precarious hillside.

In November 1957, the Stahls met with architect Pierre Koenig, who agreed to accept the project. With assistance from the prominent Case Study program, led by a prominent magazine editor, the owners received support to engage Koenig.

The contemporary program "centered around innovation" and "utilizing new resources and building in locations that maybe earlier the technology didn’t really allow," remarked an authority from a local conservancy. "All these elements are integrated into a property like the Stahl house, which was innovative, progressive and unthinkable in terms of how it was constructed on that location that everyone else believed, at the time, was unbuildable."

Finalization and Iconic Legacy

The Stahl house was assigned Case Study house No. 22, and building commenced in May 1959. According to the family, construction totaled "just $37,500" and the home was move-in ready by May 1960. The result was "a perfect representation of what everyone thinks LA is and should be," the expert noted.

Soon after completion, a celebrated architectural photographer captured what is possibly the most iconic picture of the home. Captured through the enormous glass windows, the photo shows two women positioned in the home’s living room but looking to levitate over the Los Angeles skyline.

"I think the lasting impact of the image is due to the way it conveys an notion about residing in Los Angeles, an contrast about being both in the city and detached from it," stated a head of an architectural practice and adjunct professor at a leading university.

Cultural Status

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

In 1999, the city declared the Stahl house a protected monument, and in 2013, the house was listed as a protected property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Next Custodianship

The home is still open for public viewings, as it has been for the previous 17 years, although all appointments are currently reserved through February. In their announcement concerning the sale, the family indicated they would give "sufficient warning" before discontinuing the tours.

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

"For enthusiasts of style, patrons of design, or institutions seeking to safeguard an American masterpiece, there is simply nothing comparable," the details read. "This is more than a transaction; it is a transfer of stewardship – a search for the next guardian who will honor the house’s legacy, value its architectural purity, and secure its conservation for generations to come."

The expert affirmed that the decision of buyer would be a critical one, given the home’s past.

"I think any time a original family, and a stewardship like this, is changing ownership of a residence like this, it always gives us a little bit of a hesitation – because you never know what the next owner, what their aims will be. And can they grasp and value the house, as in this specific case the Stahl family has?"