This is just a brief exerpt from the article at www.azusastreet100.net
It sure would be lovely to be able to attend this celebration. !
Los Angeles 1906 ~ A New Pentecost
Los Angeles, California, was a popular destination at the turn of the twentieth century for many Americans dreaming of greater opportunities and purpose. By 1906 this city was quickly becoming a major hub of activity. In April of that year two events focused the world’s attention on Los Angeles: The city was impacted by an earthquake that also devastated San Francisco, and services conducted in a small holiness mission on Azusa Street birthed spiritual renewal globally. Thousands of individuals converged on the city to attend the revival at Azusa Street’s mission, where they found a renewed purpose and passion in serving Jesus Christ and were commissioned to share the message of His love and power with others. Almost a century later, the activities of the renowned Azusa Street outpouring in Los Angeles are hailed as one of the greatest events in Christian history. Today, Pentecostal and Charismatic believers throughout the world reflect on the significance of Azusa Street in their spiritual heritage and development.
Charles Fox Parham influences the Pentecostal Movement
Pentecost Comes to California
Moving to Azusa Street
Eyewitness Accounts from Azusa Street
Beyond Azusa Street
William Seymour ~ A Brief Biography
Sources
Pentecost Comes to California
Los Angeles resident Neely Terry, who attended a small holiness church pastored by Julia Hutchins, made a trip to Houston, Texas, in 1905. She attended the church that William Seymour was pastoring. Although Seymour had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues, he was convinced that it was biblical and preached the message with great fervency. Impressed by Seymour’s character and message, Terry told her church about him upon her return to California and they invited him to visit. Seymour agreed to go, much to the shock of Charles Parham and others in Houston. Nonetheless, they laid hands on him and sent him forth for his evangelistic endeavor, which was originally scheduled to last for one month.
Seymour arrived in Los Angeles on February 22, 1906, and within two days was preaching at the holiness church pastored by Julia Hutchins. He preached on regeneration, sanctification, faith healing, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues. Hutchins rejected Seymour’s teaching and within a few days locked the doors of the church to keep him from preaching there. A council of elders rejected Seymour’s teaching, predominately because he had not yet experienced the blessing about which he was preaching. Some felt that he should discontinue preaching about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in other tongues. Yet, in the midst of the persecution, Seymour continued to be steadfast and unmovable in his work for the Lord. Those in the congregation who were hungering and thirsting after the deeper things of God felt compelled to spend hours in prayer. Several received confirming visions that God was about to bless Los Angeles with a spiritual outpouring.
The group continued to gather for prayer and worship, ultimately conducting services in the home of Richard and Ruth Asbery at 214 Bonnie Brae Street. Others learned of the meetings and began to attend, including some white families of nearby holiness churches. Then, on April 9, 1906, a breakthrough occurred as Edward Lee was baptized with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues after Seymour had prayed with him. The two then made their way to the Asbery home. There they had a song, prayers and testimonies, followed by Seymour’s sermon using Acts 2:4 as a text. Following the sermon Lee raised his hands and began to speak in tongues. The Spirit of God moved upon those attending and six others began to speak in tongues that same evening. Jennie Moore, who would later marry William Seymour, was among them. She became the first woman in Los Angeles to receive the Spirit-baptism. She then began to sing in tongues and play the piano under the power of God, having never played the piano prior. A few days later, on April 12, William Seymour finally received his baptism at about four o’clock in the morning, after having prayed all night long.
One eye-witness, Emma Cotton, later reminisced about those experiences: They shouted three days and nights. The people came from everywhere. By the next morning, there was no way of getting nearer the house. As the people came in they would fall under the power, and the whole city was stirred. They shouted there until the foundation of the house gave way, but no one was hurt. During those three days, there were many people who received their baptism, who had just come to see what it was. The sick were healed, and sinners were saved just as they came in.
Moving to Azusa Street
Following the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Los Angeles, interest grew in the prayer meetings. The crowds became too large for the Asbury home on Bonnie Brae Street and were moved to the yard. Soon this became too limited as well. The group then discovered an 
available building at 312 Azusa Street, which had originally been constructed as an African Methodist Episcopal Church. Having fallen into disrepair, the building was used as a stable to house hay and livestock. Nonetheless, it was secured and cleaned in preparation for services. Within days, the Los Angeles press learned of the revival services conducted at the Azusa Street Mission and newspaper reports were published throughout the United States and the world. Thousands learned of the revival and were drawn to the meeting. They all came together in worship: men, women, children, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, illiterate, and educated. They flocked to Los Angeles with both skepticism and spiritualhunger.
In September 1906 a local newspaper reporter frowned on the events taking place and wrote that the Azusa Street mission was a “disgraceful intermingling of the races…they cry and make howling noises all day and into the night. They run, jump, shake all over, shout to the top of their voice, spin around in circles, fall out on the sawdust blanketed floor jerking, kicking and rolling all over it. Some of them pass out and do not move for hours as though they were dead. These people appear to be mad, 
mentally deranged or under a spell. They claim to be filled with the spirit. They have a one eyed, illiterate, Negro as their preacher who stays on his knees much of the time with his head hidden between the wooden milk crates. He doesn't talk very much but at times he can be heard shouting, ‘Repent,’ and he's supposed to be running the thing... They repeatedly sing the same song, ‘The Comforter Has Come.’”
Hailed by some as the founder of the modern Pentecostal movement, Seymour’s consecrated lifestyle, devotion to prayer, and unwavering commitment to preach Jesus Christ and the full gospel helped spark spiritual renewal in the United States and the world. Today, over half a billion Pentecostal and Charismatic believers throughout the world are a testimony of the pivotal impact that the Azusa Street meetings had on Christianity. Consequently, the Azusa Street revival has been noted as one of the major world events of the Twentieth Century. It is evident that William Seymour was a willing vessel devoted to his Lord, and that God used him in a powerful way to help spread the message of Jesus Christ to all the nations of the earth.
Sources
Much of this historical material was gleaned from the research of Larry Martin, http://www.azusastreet.org, particularly from his books:
Holy Ghost Revival on Azusa Street: The True Believers. Joplin, MO: Christian Life Books, 1998.
The Life and Ministry of William J. Seymour: and a History of the Azusa Street Revival. Joplin, MO: Christian Life Books, 1999.
Other sources include:
Bartleman, Frank. Another Wave Rolls In. Monroeville, PA: Whitaker Books, 1971.
Davis, Clara. Azusa Street Till Now: Eyewitness Accounts of the Move of God. Tulsa, OK: Harrison House, 1989.
Nickel, Thomas R., Azusa Street Outpouring: as told to me by those who were there. Hanford, CA: Great Commission International, 1979.
Robeck, Cecil M. “Azusa Street Revival.” In The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, eds. Stanley M. Burgess and Eduard M. van der Maas, 344-350. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002.
Robeck, Cecil M. “William Joseph Seymour.” In The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, eds. Stanley M. Burgess and Eduard M. van der Maas, 1053-1058. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002.
Valdez, A.C and James F. Scheer. Fire on Azusa Street. Costa Mesa, CA: Gift Publications, 1980.
Special thanks to Louis Morgan for compiling the material for the Historical Section of this website.
