A post-and-beam modern once owned by 60s pop-culture icon Steve McQueen sold this autumn for $4.24 million. The house was designed by Buff, Straub & Hensman, a firm that achieved especial notoriety when they designed Case Study House 20 in 1958, which became the home of Saul and Ruth Bass.

This house dates to 1958 as well. The design features a steel support structure that extends deep into the canyon, and allows for an aerie-like feel; the views of the city and canyon available from the front deck are downright dramatic, suggesting the perspective of a penthouse or high-rise apartment.

The interiors of the residence are warm and marvelously open; they have that sky’s-the-limit optimism of midcentury sensibilities. Most walls in the common areas are glass, with sliders and banks of floor-to-ceiling windows lending the living style that dizzying feeling of continuation. Natural-toned glossy oak plank or tile floors, tongue-in-groove ceilings, a double door entry partnered with a picture window, a fireplace with a floating hearth, built-ins, and exposed steel beams are other details that will collectively entrance the lover of the midcentury modern style.

One of the nicer features of the house is the indoor/outdoor meditation garden, divided by a glass wall and accessible through a large slider, and the master suite’s sitting area, which achieves nearly the same effect. The nearly half-acre lot also works in a Japanese garden, a bit of lawn, a water feature, and landscaping that effectively secludes the property from its neighbors.