The Minnesota State Reformatory for Men was constructed in stages from 1889 to 1922 near Minnesota's oldest commercial granite quarry, which had begun operations in 1868. Designed to hold 1,000 inmates, it originally served young offenders ages 16 to 30 with the goal of turning them into productive citizens by teaching them to quarry, cut, dress, and lay stone as they built the very prison in which they were housed. The prison's massive granite walls, including a 22-foot-high wall finished in 1922 and built completely by inmates, were meant to project Minnesota's determination to protect the public from crime; the wall is four feet thick at its base and tapers to three feet at the top, with guard towers reinforcing the prison's formidable purpose. Several buildings, including the administration building, guard towers, and one cell block, were designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by Minnesota architect Clarence H. Johnston, whose other work included buildings at the University of Minnesota, the Grandstand at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds, St. Paul's Central High School, and Glensheen in Duluth. Stone waste from the prison's construction was crushed for nearby state highways, license plates were made at the St. Cloud prison until 2008 when stamping was replaced by printing, and today the prison continues to house approximately 1,000 adult male prisoners behind its imposing granite walls.