The 504 Vintage Marketplace

The 504 Vintage Marketplace opened in late 2019, when Ralph Watkins, his wife Gloria and their daughter Laurel bought the former Methvin St. Antique Mall and converted it. The shop fills a 3,000-square-foot building on East Methvin Street that dates to 1941, mixing the family's own collection with merchandise sold by vendors or on consignment. The inventory at opening gives a fair sense of the range: sewing machines, jewelry, Persian rugs, old-world antiques, a railroad lantern, a whaler's trunk, Coca-Cola machines, yarn, Christmas ornaments and 1914 issues of The New York Times. Ralph opened the shop after retiring from a 35-year petroleum engineering career that took him to India, Qatar, Germany, Egypt and Siberia, and he credited seeing a tremendous number of unusual things overseas as the inspiration. Laurel holds an animation degree from Savannah College of Art and managed a vintage home furnishing and decor store in Savannah for four years. The 504 is a Locals Love Us Longview winner in both Antiques and Used/Resale Merchandise. As Ralph put it: "All we are interested in doing is meeting the needs of people who want to bring fine things into their homes."