The Alaska governor walked through the nearly empty hall and spent about 10 minutes checking out the podium where she'll give her acceptance speech as McCain's vice presidential nominee.

CNN: Analysis: What Palin needs to say

They can ill afford to have a half empty dais on Hall of Fame weekend due in part to protest or lack of interest.

FORBES: Uncertainty about the Hall of Fame Ballot has Cooperstown's Economy Eagerly Awaiting the Results

Out I followed but the hall was empty.

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Built as a temperance hall in 1873, Dawley Town Hall has been empty since it closed in 2011.

BBC: Dawley Town Hall looks beyond autumn opening

The hall is half empty, yet seems too small for his ambitions: "We think we've found the next great market -- the ability to provide information to everybody, everywhere, anytime, and to automate sales and marketing of services, " he says.

FORBES: Database evangelist

"A lot of parents don't want to put their babies in an empty crib, " says Catherine Hall, the founder of Mothers Investigating Safe Sleep Options for Newborns, a Boston-based nonprofit group.

WSJ: When a Cuddly Crib Puts the Baby in Danger

"I don't want to see the land and the building stay empty and broken, " one parent said during a town hall meeting Sunday night.

CNN: Newtown searches for answers a month later

' It seemed real when the orchestra left and Nathaniel opened his violin case in the empty auditorium, tucked the instrument under his chin and played Disney Hall.

NPR: Nathaniel's Story: From Juilliard to Skid Row

Traders in the market's 1976 hall urged HM Revenue and Customs to reduce their rates because of the number of empty units in that part of the market.

BBC: Kirkgate Market