As Jerusalem had been chosen for the setting of the early Pentecost so Los Angeles was evidently chosen for the latter-day Pentecost.

On April 9, 1906, the long-awaited promised outpouring of the Spirit came upon a little band of interdenominational people who were holding cottage prayer meetings in a home at 214 N. Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angeles. These people were born-again Christians, who had been subsequently sanctified, all in one accord as were the 120 in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost. God poured out His Spirit on these people, baptizing them with the Holy Ghost and empowering them for service. They received the same outward evidence of having received the baptism of the Spirit as was given at Pentecost, that of speaking in another language as the Spirit gave utterance (Acts 2:4).

God began to work in a marvelous way, and the news of what was transpiring spread quickly throughout the city and surrounding towns. So many came to the meetings that within a few days it was necessary to look for a larger place of worship.

They secured an old, whitewashed frame building, once used for a Methodist church, located in the older part of the commercial district at 312 Azusa Street. There the revival broke forth with such intensity that it knew no bounds.