sentences:  In 1926 Zürich wine wholesaler and play house director Ferdinand Rieser acquired the house and had it renovated.Then in 1938 it was leased to the ', a company founded by the city of Zürich in order to save the theater from its financial difficulties.When the lease ran out in 1952, the citizens of Zürich refused to purchase the house for the proposed price of 3 million Swiss francs.