L.A.’s Most Iconic Mid-Century Home Hits The Market For The First Time: The Stahl House Is Up For Sale For 25M

From the Hollyhock House to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the futuristic, soon-to-open Lucas Museum, L.A. is no stranger to groundbreaking and iconic buildings. One of them, already a local legend and a backdrop in countless flicks and TV series, is the Stahl House, which, surprisingly, is hitting the market for the very first time. The reason? The Stahl family heirs explained to *LAist* that they *“gotten older, and it has become increasingly challenging to care for it with the attention and energy it so richly deserves”.* After decades of preserving one of L.A.’s most iconic modernist homes, they’ve decided it’s time for a new owner to take on the responsibility and legacy of this [architectural gem.](https://secretlosangeles.com/diane-keaton-la-architecture/) From rocky slope to legendary home -------------------------------------- Back in the early 1950s, that steep slope overlooking the city, now 1635 Woods Drive, was considered basically “no‐man’s land”: too unstable and too risky, but not for Carlotta Stahl and Buck Stahl. The couple was living a few blocks down, and every night from their little balcony on Hillside Avenue they’d gaze at a ridge across the way, feeling inexplicably drawn to what seemed like a rocky wasteland. In May 1954, they decided to just go see it, the owner of the land, George Beaumonde happened to be there and after a quick handshake (and, reportedly, $100) they bought that piece of land that was considered “unbuildable”. They first pitched to two architects but, as usual, third time’s the charm and a young 32‐year‐old dreamer named Pierre Koenig, saw true potential. Within months, he had drawn up wild plans: steel beams anchored into concrete piles, giant glass walls, a cantilevered floor that looked like it was floating in mid‐air, for the brand new 2,300-square-foot home, as *Rost Architecture Interiors* explains. A contemporary architectural marvel --------------------------------------- The Stahl House represents a breakthrough in how homes were conceived in L.A. back in the day (and in the U.S.) after World War II, and it even shaped the way upscale living looks today. It was part of the experimental Case Study Houses program, a postwar project by Arts & Architecture magazine testing modern designs, materials, and construction techniques, hence the name Case Study House #22 This technical boldness, combined with an open, minimalist design perfectly integrated with the landscape, made the house a symbol of what “modern living” in California meant: lightness, transparency, connection to the environment, and a forward-looking vision, as depicted by *Architecture Tour LA.* Stahl house in pop-culture ------------------------------ Over the decades, the Stahl House has become one of L.A.’s most recognizable backdrops. Its sweeping city views and glass‐boxed design make it perfect for films, TV shows, commercials, and even video games. It has appeared in movies like Galaxy Quest (1999), Nurse Betty (2000), Playing by Heart (1998), and Corrina, Corrina (1994), TV shows such as Columbo, Adam-12, and Emergency! and even inspired locations in video games, including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), where a version of the house serves as a player-owned safehouse. Source: https://secretlosangeles.com/la-iconic-stahl-house-for-sale/