The History Channel, original podcast.

History this week, April 30th, 1977.

I'm Sally Hone.

At San Francisco's Department of Health, Education, and Well Fair, all is quiet on the fourth floor.

Normally that wouldn't be a notable fact.

This is a federal office building and it's a Saturday afternoon.

But for the past three and a half weeks, the fourth floor of this building has been alive with activity at every hour of the day.

Because a group of activists has been living inside, eating breakfast in an office, washing their hair in the bathroom sink,

sleeping on couches and under tables and on the red-tiled floor, or sleeping sometimes in their wheelchairs.

Many of these demonstrators are people with disabilities and they've been sitting in for weeks to demand enforcement of a law that would make federally funded facilities more accessible to them.

It's called Section 504.

And finally, two days ago in Washington, D.C., the Secretary of Health, Education, and Well Fair signed the regulations they've been demanding.

The activists rejoiced.

They cleaned up their living quarters on the fourth floor and today, they're finally leaving the building.

They roll and walk out into the sun carrying signs that say, victory.

They're singing, drinking champagne, hugging the guards they've gotten to know.

And some of them are crying.

It's become almost like home here, when demonstrator tells a reporter, we went through a war together.

Another protester puts the same feeling differently. We all fell in love with each other.

Today, the 504 sit-in.

What happened when a group of activists with disabilities staged the longest peaceful occupation of a federal building in US history.

And how did this protest change accessibility in America?

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