There were few changes made to Orchard Road where it was a residential area and then slightly altered by the business area development. In 1949, the McDonald House office was built. In the 1950s, Orchard Road was turned into a central car distribution centre. In addition, the construction of high-rise apartments began in the early 1960s. Ngee Ann Building, Emerald Hill, and Cairnhill Mansion were such cases even if these buildings did not succeed in attracting people's attention. Various other alterations followed, such as the emergence of hotel expansion in mid 1960s, and Orchard Road grew to be the most important shopping districts in Singapore by the mid 1980s. However, in the early 1980s, the government occupied the remaining areas to create an efficient city by recovering a wide range of infrastructures such as road improvement, sewer drainage and telecommunications.