‘A perfect version of Los Angeles’: Stahl’s legendary mid-century home is up for sale for the first time | Build

The Stahl House — an exemplar of mid-century modern Los Angeles architectural design — is for sale for the first time in the house’s history.

The cantilevered home, located in the Hollywood Hills, hit the listing market this week. Asking price: $25 million.

The Stahl family, which has owned the house throughout its 65-year history, released a statement about the decision to sell, saying that maintaining the property had become too difficult.

“This home has been the center of our lives for decades, but as we have grown older, it has become increasingly difficult to care for it with the attention and energy it so richly deserves,” wrote Bruce and Shari Stahl, sons of the original owners.

They added that it was time to find a new “steward” for the house — “someone who not only appreciates its architectural significance, but also understands its place in the cultural landscape of Los Angeles and beyond.”

The origins of the Stahl House go back to May 1954, when CH “Buck” and Carlotta Stahl purchased a hilly plot of land in the then-undeveloped Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles for $13,500.

Although the Stahl House has become a famous symbol of Los Angeles, “nobody famous has ever lived here,” Buck has often said, describing his family as “a blue-collar family living in a white-collar house.” Buck worked as a graphic designer and sign painter, and he and Carlotta hauled concrete from city construction projects to the property on weekends.

Buck created the original design for the Stahl House during the summer of 1956, although many architects were originally wary of building it on the unstable hillside. In November 1957, the Stahl family interviewed architect Pierre König, who agreed to do the job.

With support from the Case Study Program, a project led by Arts & Architecture magazine editor John Entenza, the Stahls received subsidies to hire Koenig.

Adrian Scott Fine, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Nature Conservancy, said the modernist program was “about experimentation” and “using new materials and building in places where technology may not have previously allowed.” “All of these things are combined in a place like the Stahl House, which was avant-garde and modern and unimaginable in terms of how it could be built on that site that everyone, at the time, thought was unbuildable.”

The Stahl House became Case Study House No. 22, and construction began in May 1959. According to the family, construction cost “only $37,500” and the house was move-in ready by May 1960. The result was “an idealized version of what everyone thought Los Angeles was and should be,” Fine said.

Shortly after construction was completed, architectural photographer Julius Shulman took the most famous photo of the house. The photo was taken through floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and shows two women sitting in the home’s living room but appearing to float above the Los Angeles skyline.

“I think the lasting impact of Shulman’s image is because of the way it conveys an idea about living in Los Angeles, and the ambivalence about being in the city and being away from it,” said Kevin Daly, founder of Kevin Daly Architects and an assistant professor at the UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Design.

The house has historically appeared in films, television and music videos, including Rote Play (1998), Galaxy Quest (1999) and Nurse Betty (2000).

In 1999, Los Angeles declared the Stahl House a historic and cultural landmark, and in 2013, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a property worthy of protection.

The house remains open for tours, as it has for the past 17 years, although tickets are currently sold out through February. In its statement announcing the sale of the home, the family said it would give “sufficient notice” before ceasing tours.

The home’s listing emphasizes finding a buyer who will maintain the character of the space.

“For design enthusiasts, patrons of architecture, or institutions seeking to protect an American masterpiece, there is nothing comparable,” the list reads. “This is not just a sale, it is a transfer of responsibility – a search for the next custodian who will respect the history of the house, respect its architectural purity, and ensure its preservation for future generations.”

Fine agreed that buyer choice would be important, given the home’s history.

“I think any time a long-time owner, and management like this, transfers ownership of a property like this, it always gives us a little bit of pause — because you never know who the next owner is going to be, what their intentions are. And are they going to understand and appreciate the house, as is the case in this particular case with the Stahl family?”