On Friday, January 20th, thousands of people participated in a day of decentralized direct actions, bank blockades, flashmobs, cultural interventions, picketlines, office takeovers, a foreclosure auction disruption and a building takeover to Occupy Wall St. West -- the San Francisco Financial District.

One group kicked off the day of action dressed as giant squids at Goldman Sachs, while others shut down Wells Fargo Corporate Headquarters on Montgomery St. by chaining themselves to the doors. Demonstrators also occupied Bank of America's main branch at Montgomery and California streets. At Citicorp's 1 Sansome office, protesters staged a mock foreclosure, piling furniture and moving boxes into the revolving door at the main entrance.

Later in the day, a march ended at Van Ness Avenue at Geary where hundreds of protesters had a rainy standoff with the SFPD. Police pepper sprayed a dozen protesters. More than a hundred occupants gained entrance to the Cathedral Hill Hotel where they held a housewarming party and occupied the hotel until the early hours of the following morning. A site of labor disputes, the hotel sits vacant while 10,000 homeless people are living on the streets of San Francisco.

Occupy SF and allies write, "We have named and mapped these financial institutions so that we can occupy them. Let's expose how Wall St. operates in our midst, attacking our communities, homes, education, environment, democracy, livelihood, and well being. Let's push back against corporate power, overthrow the rule of 'the 1%' and its crazy legal foundation of corporate personhood."

Post-action press release | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Audio: 1 | Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4