New York Stock Exchange, ca. 1970.

Long before the Occupy Wall Street protests of 2011, the area of Lower Manhattan near the Stock Exchange was the site of political protests. Established in 1987 as the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP, the group was well known for their confrontational style of advocacy. On the same day as a planned protest of pharmaceutical companies they felt were profiting from the AIDS epidemic on the street outside of the building, a few members sneaked into the building. They chained themselves to a balcony and rained fake $100 bills onto the trading floor. This was the first time in history the opening bell of the Exchange had been disrupted.