Williamsport’s Board of Trade decided in 1920 that a city built rich on the timber industry needed a grand hotel to match its ambitions, and the newly formed Williamsport Hotels Company raised $750,000 through public share sales, which the city matched dollar for dollar. Construction began in 1921 on the site of the old Breining Store, and the Lycoming Hotel opened June 21, 1922, with a three-day celebration that drew a trainload of guests from New York City.
Designed by architect William Lee Stoddart, the eleven-story building became, and remains, the tallest structure in Williamsport. When the first Little League World Series was held in the city in 1947, the hotel housed the visiting teams, a connection it has maintained ever since, hosting participants nearly every year since. Local hotelier Gus Genetti bought the property in 1975 and renamed it after himself. Past guests have included Jack Earle, at 8 feet 6 inches once considered the world’s tallest man, who required two beds pushed together to sleep.
