Tag Archives: atomic age

LA’s Famous Atomic Age Stahl House For Sale

LA’s Stahl House – Most Famous US Modern Home Since Fallingwater – Lists $25 Million usd/ $34.3 Million cad

In 1945, Arts and Architecture magazine commissioned major architects to create the Case Study Homes, an experiment in architectural design intended as a creative solution to the impending post-war housing boom. Constructed from industrial materials, these homes would help to define the mid-century modern movement, none more so than Case Study House #22, known as the Stahl House.

The Pierre Koenig masterpiece is cantilevered over a Hollywood hillside, which had been deemed unbuildable by previous architects. The home was immortalized by renowned photographer Julius Shulman in an image that shows two women in white party dresses lounging in the living room that seems to float above the glittering city.

It is perhaps the most famous modern-style US home and architectural photograph since Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Fallingwater. A true cultural landmark, the home is a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Owned by the Stahl family since its inception, this one-of-a-kind icon of modern design has hit the market for the first time.

Representing the optimism of the atomic age, the Stahl House features the steel-and-glass construction so emblematic of the modern movement. Its legendary glass walls were created from the largest glass panels commercially available when it was built between 1958 and 1960. They offer sweeping 270-degree views of Los Angeles. A picture window in the primary bathroom frames the Hollywood Sign. 

An airy open floor plan connects the living spaces in the 2,200-square-foot home, anchored by a central fireplace with natural stone details. Blonde wood enhances the charming kitchen, which features a spacious island with counter seating that ingeniously tucks away when not in use. The concrete floors sport radiant heating for ultimate comfort. Sliding doors open onto the gorgeous pool deck with an expansive swimming pool and more awesome views. Situated at the end of a gated drive, the property offers a rare combination of discretion, security, and serenity high above the city. Since 2007, the house has offered public tours, and the family seeks not just a buyer but a custodian who will honor the house’s history, respect its architectural purity, and ensure its preservation for generations to come. 

Located in the Hollywood Hills, the house is about a mile from the legendary Sunset Strip, the epicenter of LA’s rock-and-roll scene in the 1960s and still home to top-notch venues for music, comedy and food. The neighborhood is very popular with celebrities, with A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio, Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry and Taylor Swift owning homes in the hills. The Stahl House is a celebrity in its own right, having been featured in numerous films and TV shows, including ColumboNurse Betty and Galaxy Quest For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Tim Allen playing Jason Nesmith in 1999 Galaxy Quest – The Stahl house

The listing is held by William Baker of the Agency Beverly Hills.

Photo Credit: Cameron Carothers; Original Photos by Julius Shulman, courtesy of The Getty Museum

Historic Mid Century Modern Case Study House #16

Los Angeles’s Case Study House #16
Vintage mid-century modern homes are as popular today as they were when built in the 1950s and ’60s. Arts & Architecture magazine’s post-war Case Study Houses, for example, rarely come up for sale, and when they do, are usually snapped up by aficionados almost as quickly as the listing goes into print. Case Study House #16 is now for sale and priced at $5.4 million usd/ $7.4 million cad.

When World War II ended and the American troops were returning home, it was the start of the baby boom and a monumental housing shortage. Well-known architects in the country were asked to design simple, affordable homes that could be built en masse.


The magazine Arts & Architecture put out a challenge to architects that included Richard Neutra, Raphael Soriano, Craig Ellwood and Ray Eames. The Case Study Houses were numbered 1 through 28, and two apartments were included. They were built from 1945 sporadically through 1966. Thirteen were never built, and from the ones that were, at least three were later demolished. A couple of them have been renovated rather than restored, and the rest are lived in and cared for today.

NUMBER 16

Number 16 was the first of three Case Study Houses designed by Craig Ellwood. Completed in 1953 in Bel Air, the house was innovative in its use of exposed steel-structural framing and floor-to-ceiling glass walls to optimize the views and open to the grounds, making it feel twice the size.

Ellwood was actually an engineer rather than an architect, and placed a lot of emphasis on the stability of the structure using steel, glass, and concrete built on a slab. The 1,664-square-foot home with two bedrooms and two baths is just as contemporary today as when it was built. The living room has a dramatic stone fireplace set into the glass wall that extends beyond it into a terraced area. Set into mature landscaping, the house appears to rest on a cushion of greenery.

The historic Case Study House #16 is for sale in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California. Priced at $5.4 million usd/ $7.4 million cad, the listing agent is Veronika Sznajder with Crosby Doe Associates. For the Silo, Bob Walsh/ toptenrealestatedeals.com