PCAD - Saint Steven's African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Los Angeles, CA

AKA: Azusa Street Pentecostalist Revival, Los Angeles, CA; Apostolic Faith Mission, Los Angeles, CA

312 Azusa Street
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CA 90012-3834

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This African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Los Angeles by Biddy Mason (1818-1891), the first slave to win her freedom in the California court system, on land that she owned; the unprepossessing, whitewashed building measured 40 by 60 feet and formerly served as a tenement and livery stable; it later became the site of William J. Seymour's (1870-1922) influential Apostolic Faith Mission (also known as the Azusa Street Pentecostalist Revival) from 1906-1931; a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Landmark for which a plaque on site reads: "Site of the Azusa St. Revival from 1906 to 1931. Cradle of the Worldwide Pentecostal Movement." this was one of the first religious congregations in the U.S. that consisted of black and white parishioners together under a African-American pastor; the site in "Little Tokyo" is now occupied by the Japanese American Community Cultural Center (JACCC) Plaza; a play,'The Azusa Street Revival,'by Andre David Brooks,was performed in October 1991;

Demolished;

PCAD id: 3605

Publications

Bartleman, Frank, Azusa Street, 2000. Bass, Charlotta A., Forty years. Memoirs from the pages of a newspaper, 1960. Richey, Reverend Jack L., "Azusa will always be remebered....", Four Square World Advance, np, 3/1976. "Dead-end turnoff is focus of revival; Azusa Street: scene of'miracles'", Los Angeles Times, part !: 31, col 4-5, 4/4/1981. "Your hair stood on end", Los Angeles Times, part II: 1, col 1-6; 5, col 4, 1/11/1976. Rasmussen, Cecilia, "L.A. then and now / Vision of a colorblind faith gave birth to Pentecostalism", Los Angeles Times, B3, 6/14/1998. Stammer, Larry B., "Pentecostals plan to honor birthplace of their movement", Los Angeles Times, B4, 5/22/1997. Watanabe, Teresa, "A movement born in a stable", Los Angeles Times, B16, 6/2/2001. Nakayama, Takeshi, "African American roots of Little Tokyo", Rafu Shimpo, 1, 4, 02/13/1998.