FCI Lewisburg, in Union County, Pennsylvania, is one of the true old-guard institutions of the federal prison system. It opened on November 15, 1932, originally under the name U.S. Northeastern Penitentiary, as one of the first federal prisons built after the Bureau of Prisons itself was created in 1930 — making it, in effect, one of the earliest facilities purpose-designed under the modern federal prison system rather than inherited from an earlier era. It was designed by noted architect Alfred Hopkins and was notable at the time for blending traditional cellblock housing with dormitory-style units, an early example of varied housing design within a single institution. The Bureau's first director, Sanford Bates, reportedly regarded it as something of a flagship for the young agency. Over the following decades the facility operated as USP Lewisburg before eventually being redesignated as a medium-security FCI. Its nearly century-old core buildings and status as one of the BOP's founding-era prisons give it a level of institutional history that few other facilities in the system can match, and it remains an active medium-security institution for male inmates today.