A Piece Of LA Architectural History Is For Sale — And Nobody Wants To Buy It

LOS ANGELES — A piece of California architectural history has been on the market for nearly a year with no buyer.

Case Study House No. 22 — also known as the Stahl House — was listed in November at $25 million, but even with a price drop to $20 million in April, the midcentury Los Angeles house is still for sale.

Built into a cliff, the 1959 two-bedroom home’s sweeping panoramic views of the city were famously photographed in 1960 by Julius Shulman, the property’s Zillow listing noted.

The house at 1635 Woods Drive was designed by Pierre Koenig for Buck and Carlotta Stahl, whose children are now trying to sell the home after opening it for tours for the past 17 years to support its ongoing maintenance and restoration, according to the listing and a message from the family on the Stahl House website.

“This offering represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to acquire a true cultural landmark,” according to the listing for the home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The lack of a sale has flummoxed architectural historian Alan Hess, he told SFGate.

“It is so famous, and by LA standards, the price didn’t seem to be out of whack too much,” he told the outlet. “I’m surprised simply because there are house collectors who buy houses and don’t tend to live in them. To buy that would be a key part of a serious collection.”