If you’ve seen any photographs of mid-century Los Angeles, you’ve probably seen the Stahl House.
The property sits perched in the Hollywood Hills, a glass box overlooking the glittering sprawl below. Though modest in size, the home’s iconic location and ground-breaking design turned it into a popular location for creatives — and one image in particular, featuring two women lounging in the living room, is among the most famous depictions ever of Los Angeles.
And now, you can own this home.
In a message posted recently to the home’s official website, the Stahl family — using the home’s official name — announced that “the time has come to identify the next steward of Case Study House #22.”
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“After 65 years, our family has made the heartfelt and very difficult decision to place the Stahl House on the market,” the message continued. “This home has been the center of our lives for decades, but as we’ve gotten older, it has become increasingly challenging to care for it with the attention and energy it so richly deserves.”
The Agency is representing the listing, which has an asking price of $25 million.
Credit: The Agency
The history of the Stahl House is a sort of Los Angeles fairytale. The home sits on a lot that graphic designer Buck Stahl and his wife bought in 1959 for $13,000.
Most architects told them the lot was unbuildable, but eventually Pierre Koenig — who would go on to become an icon of mid-century design — took the commission. To prepare the site for building, Buck and his wife Carlotta combed Los Angeles construction sites for leftover concrete, which they then hauled back home to shore up the hillside.
The project became part of the Case Study program shortly before groundbreaking. The program was sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine and was meant to highlight innovative, but middle-class, architecture.
Today, it’s remembered for featuring a who’s who of famous architects, including Richard Neutra, Charles Eames, and others. Many of the homes in the project went on to become famous, but none more so than the Stahl House.
Credit: The Agency
Over the decades, the home’s fame grew, though it remained in the Stahl family. By the 21st century, the Stahls were opening the house up to small tours and visiting the property became a popular Los Angeles pastime.
When I toured the home in 2017, a friend of the family showed our small group around, recalling jumping off the roof into the pool when he was young. And because the house spans a mere 2,200 square feet, the “tours” were really just an excuse to lounge in the living room and bask in the glow of the city for an hour.
Great views and an every-man history helped the Stahl House win over Angelenos, but the home’s fame is in part — a large part — due to a 1960 photo by Julius Shulman.
The photo, featured at the top of this post, depicts two women sitting in the glass-encased living room. The photo is simple, but captures the glamor and ease of mid-century, jet-set era Los Angeles.
Credit: The Agency
In more recent years, the home’s notoriety has increased after it was featured in numerous TV shows and movies, the most famous of which is perhaps Galaxy Quest.
What lies ahead for the Stahl House remains to be seen. The Stahl family has been offering tours for the past 17 years, and the message posted to the home’s website indicates those tours will continue for the time being. But for anyone who might be especially concerned about access, you could also just buy the house — if you have $25 million.
