The Azusa Street Revival of 1906 to 1909 was an event that popularized the practice of charismatic worship first in the United States and eventually throughout the Christian world. However, representations of the revival in the early 20th century were distorted and distorted the events that occurred. Early believers described the revival as an eschatological narrative in which the power of God came to the earth and revolutionized the church, especially with the gift of tongues. Pentecostal historians later mythologized Azusa Street by portraying the revival as the birthplace of Pentecostalism. On the other hand, conservatives portrayed the events of the revival as unbiblical and sinful, while secular critics portrayed the revival as an irrational phenomenon defying human logic. After the Civil War, Protestant churches began to ignore the meaning of emotional expression in worship. According to historian Thomas Nicole, American churches transformed into "dignified, rational, middle-class congregations" that limited emotional expression. In contrast, various fringe groups fought the cold formalism that had developed in American Christianity because they believed that the power of the Holy Spirit would soon transform into charismatic power, as prophesied in Joel 2:28-32. By 1906, great anticipation had arisen among these groups located in Los Angeles as Menzies explains that several congregations were holding prayer meetings crying out for "a Pentecost" in Los Angeles. It seems that ministers began to portray Los Angeles as the center from which a charismatic outpouring would inevitably arise. Frank Bartleman, for example, reported that the people of Los Angeles would soon find themselves “grappling with a powerful… medium of paper… after a century (Kingfield: Sheffield Academic) 1999. Larry Martin, http:// www.azusastreet.org/AzusaStreetCartoons.htm, retrieved May 25, 2009.Lum Clara, Pentecost Has Come, The Apostolic Faith. 1(1), 1906.Menzies, William, W., Anointed to Serve: The Story of the Assemblies of God. (Springfield: Gospel Publishing House). Nicole Thomas, Pentecostalism, (New York: Harper and Row) 1966. Owens Robert R, The Azusa Street Revival (Lanham: xulan press) 2005. Robeck Cecil M, The mission and the Azusa Street revival: the birthplace of the global Pentecostal movement (Nashville: Nelson reference&electronics) 2006.Synan Vinson, The Pentecostal tradition of holiness, Grabd rapids Michigan: Eerdmans, 1971.Turner, William C, Jr, Una. Azusa East Coast Celebration: Theological Implications Journal of Pentecostal Theology 16 (1) 2007, p 32-45