The palace had several owners during the 19th century (including a banker and two waiters who wanted to use it as a hotel, "King Ludwig I. of Bavaria"). In 1918 it was bought by Max Reinhardt, the noted theatre director and co-founder of the Salzburg Festival. By this time the palace was in urgent need of repair. With the work of local artisans, Reinhardt spent twenty years renovating the palace. Besides restoring the staircase, the Great Hall, and the Marble Hall, he created the Library, the Venetian Room, and a garden theatre. He used the whole building for his theatre productions (the audiences had to move from room to room). He also used it as a gathering place for writers, actors, composers, and designers from across the globe. Reinhardt escaped to the United States as actions increased against the Jews, hoping the Germans would be defeated in the war. He worked in Hollywood during World War II and died in New York in 1943, before the Allied victory.