This was my first visit to the Stahl House / Case Study House 22 by Pierre Koenig. As you most likely know, it's for sale. Unfortunately, I don't have a Rothko to sell, so I'm not a buyer. However, I thought it would be a good time to visit in case a new owner wouldn't be as generous with tours as the Stahl family has been. It was a beautiful day. Buck and Carlotta Stahl did not set out to live in a modern architecture icon. As a young married couple, they were renting an apartment with a view of the Hollywood hills. In 1954, with the dream of building a home but not really having the money to do it, they ended up buying what many thought to be an unbuildable lot. The deal was made on a handshake from property owner George Beha, from La Jolla, who agreed to carry the $13,500 mortgage. During the four years it took them to pay off the mortgage, Buck collected discarded concrete material from construction sites around Los Angeles and built up a terrace around the edge of...
