In May 1954, Mr. “Buck” Stahl and his wife Carlotta bought an empty lot above Sunset Blvd for $13,000 and a handshake. It sounded like a steal, but they missed a minor detail: the land was too steep to build a house on. Luckily, Buck, a retired football player, and his wife were as determined as they were dreamers. For the next two years, the couple spent their weekends carrying loads of broken concrete they managed to amass to their property, in the hope of reinforcing its foundation. How romantic.

A few years later, the Stahls figured it was time to hire a professional architect to rationalize their dream of a glass and steel house (complete with crazy panoramic views of L.A.). They hired Pierre Koenig, and a year and $37,651 later, the modernist icon was complete. 

The L-shaped architectural wonder has housed Stahls ever since, and it doesn't look like they're moving out any time soon (they've rejected offers for over $15M). The family does offer tours a few times a week but understandably has pretty strict guidelines for guests. Check out the available tour times and more info. here: http://stahlhouse.com/tours/.