The company built the St. Paul's Towers, a 24-story apartment complex for senior citizens, on the shores of Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. The wide variety of projects undertaken during the 1950s reflected Allen Christensen's imagination, his skill as a negotiator, and his willingness to take risks. Both foreign and domestic projects ranged from dams to military housing and from mining to dredging. However, despite Littlefield's warnings, Christensen did not realize the degree to which his habit of withholding information rankled Eccles. In 1957 Eccles pressed for Littlefield's election as executive vice president, essentially halving Christensen's position. The following year, again at Eccles' urging, Littlefield became general manager while Christensen replaced the semi-retired Corey as president. "The by-laws were changed so that all the duties normally associated with the president became part of the general manager's package, and 1 was elected general manager," Littlefield explained. Effectively sidelined, Christensen left the company in 1961 to pursue other opportunities. Littlefield created mining, construction, and land development divisions reflected in the company's new name, Utah Construction & Mining. As improved organization and communication smoothed the internal workings, he also considered what should be done to "create value for the shareholders." As chairman of the Board of Directors, Eccles' influence could hardly be overstated, yet he "seemed to lose all sense of time when he was thinking aloud about the implications of any matter requiring his yes or no," his biographer explained. "This, in turn, could bear hard on his business associates, and especially at the end of a day when he was airing his thoughts without any auxiliary thought of waiting secretaries, impatient wives, or commuter train schedules." Thus when Littlefield became general manager, he set another condition: "Marriner, except in emergencies caused by earthquakes, fires, floods, or the outbreak of nuclear war, I want the right to leave my office at a quarter of six in the evening so that I can catch the train that will take me home to my wife and children."