My, my, how the downtown Lancaster retail scene has changed in 75 years.

At right is a list of stores participating in “Lancaster Sales Day” in 1934. The list was published in the New Era on Jan. 22 of that year. It’s a nice Who’s Who from the retail landscape of that day.

But only a few of the stores remain. Or maybe I should say, amazingly, some of the retailers are still in business.

The survivors include Demuth’s Tobacco Shop (in business since 1770) on East King Street and Shaub’s Shoe Store on North Queen Street.

Miesse Candies still has a local operation, with a factory and retail store at 735 Lafayette Street and another retail store in the Kendig Square shopping center. But in April, it closed its stand at Central Market and its store at Lancaster Shopping Center.

Sears and J.C. Penney are now at the Park City mall. Not sure if “Ream’s Inc.” was related to the present-day Ream Jewelers in the first block of North Queen Street, but the jewelry store’s Web site says it wasn’t founded until 1935, the year after this list was published.

Darmstaetter’s, founded in 1905, survived until 1997. Watt & Shand, which operated for 98 years, was sold to Bon-Ton Stores Inc. in 1992, and that company closed the Penn Square store in 1995.

The Sayres, Scheid & Sweeton men’s store on East King Street closed in 1995 after more than 80 years in business. The building reopened in 1996 as Annie Bailey’s Irish Pub.

Anyone have any more information, memories or reflections on any of the stores on this list?