After working at his father’s store, Walter C. Thomas moved to Tampa from Valdosta, Ga. in 1900. He started the Tampa Hardware Store soon after that. In 1911, they built this 5-story structure on the northwest corner of Polk and Pierce Streets to sell wholesale sporting goods, hotel supplies, auto accessories, and hardware supplies. The company was a big believer in the “judicious and liberal use of newspaper advertising,” setting a record on November 6, 1921, with 40 pages of ads in the Tampa Tribune. Many of their competitors thought it foolish and a waste of money. In 1929, after 29 years of service, the company voted to retire its active business. Being the largest hardware company in Florida, the Knight and Wall Company agreed to liquidate the inventory and collect the accounts receivable. In the 1940s, the building was converted and used by Tampa Cold Storage until they moved in 1950. In 1954, the building was razed by the owner, Adamo Drive Corp, with no plans to re-develop. The Greyhound Bus terminal moved here from Marion and Twiggs Street in 1961, along with the Post House restaurant. It originally scheduled 144 bus arrivals and departures every day.