FCI La Tuna is one of the older facilities in the federal prison system, formally opening on May 1, 1932, on the Texas–New Mexico border about 12 miles north of El Paso. It started out under the name El Paso Detention Farm before being redesignated, and it was originally meant to house offenders from across a wide swath of the Southwest — Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and southern Utah. What really sets La Tuna apart is its architecture: the prison was designed in a Spanish Mission style by noted regional architect Henry Trost, making it a visually distinctive landmark for drivers passing on I-10 rather than the plain, utilitarian look of most federal prisons. The name "La Tuna" comes from the Spanish word for prickly pear, the desert cactus common in the nearby Franklin Mountains and along the Rio Grande. A minimum-security satellite camp was added in 1978, and today the institution operates as a low-security facility for male inmates. Its nearly century-long history and unusual desert-mission design make it one of the more architecturally notable prisons in the federal system.