The Stahl House (Case Study House #22), an icon of Midcentury Modern Los Angeles architecture, is listed for $25 million. The home, commissioned by the original owners in 1960, has remained with the same family since its construction according to the Los Angeles Times.
Architect Pierre Koenig designed the structure for the Stahl family, who purchased the hillside lot in 1954 for $13,500. Construction of the steel-and-glass residence cost $37,500, including the cantilevered L-shaped design, pool, and a stone-faced fireplace between living and dining areas. The second bedroom is accessible only through the primary bedroom — an “efficient use of space” for a family of five, according to William Baker, architecture director at The Agency Beverly Hills.
Photographer Julius Shulman captured the house shortly after completion, producing what Los Angeles magazine called “perhaps the most famous picture ever taken of Los Angeles.” The Architect’s Newspaper described the property as “one of the world’s most famous buildings.” Shulman’s long-exposure nighttime image, made visible through a seven-minute exposure as he later told Los Angeles magazine, is now held by the Getty Research Institute.
The property appeared in multiple film and television works, including the 1968 pilot of Columbo, Galaxy Quest (1999) and Nurse Betty (2000). For 17 years, the home has been open for public tours, most recently on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with daytime prices at $60 per adult and evening admissions at $90. Photography remains tightly restricted, and the official website notes that tours are sold out through the end of February.
In a statement, surviving family members Bruce Stahl and Shari Stahl wrote that maintaining the home has become increasingly difficult as they have aged. They added that the tour program “will continue unchanged for the time being,” with advance notice given before any adjustments.
According to the listing, the residence is “a protected landmark and the only Case Study House with original family ownership.” In 2009, Amanda Stewart of the Los Angeles Conservancy nominated it for the National Register of Historic Places, calling it “perhaps the most iconic house constructed in the Case Study House Program.”
The Case Study House Program, sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine between 1945 and 1966, resulted in 25 completed homes, of which 19 remain today. Baker noted that he recently handled the sale of Case Study House #10 in Pasadena, purchased by a buyer who had lost their home in the Pacific Palisades fire in January.
Nearby examples of celebrated Modern homes in institutional care include Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House (1921), owned by the city of Los Angeles; the Schindler House (1922), owned by the Friends of the Schindler House and operated by the MAK Center for Art and Architecture; and the Eames House (1949), held by the Eames Foundation. The Sheats-Goldstein Residence (1961–63), designed by John Lautner and later renovated by him, has been promised by James Goldstein to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
The Stahl House stands on Woods Drive in the Hollywood Hills, just north of West Hollywood’s municipal boundary.
