Celebrating Christ's Work in the Canvas Cathedral

Videos and stories take you under the big tent with Billy Graham

September 24, 2010 - Sixty one years ago, a tall, earnest evangelist known as Billy Graham descended on Los Angeles with a fury. The city, the young man, and the course of American Christianity would never be the same.

On the corner of Washington and Hill streets south of downtown L.A., a “canvas cathedral” was erected for Mr. Graham's first campaign in the city — originally scheduled for three weeks and extended to eight. In honor of the 61st anniversary of that Crusade, we have compiled stories and videos, to give you a peak under the big tent.

A Watershed Moment

In his autobiography, Billy Graham reflected on 1949 Los Angeles Crusade: "Until then it had not fully registered with me how far-reaching the impact of the Los Angeles Campaign had been. I would learn over the next few weeks that the phenomenon of that Los Angeles tent Campaign at Washington and Hill Streets would forever change the face of my ministry and my life."
Read the excerpt »

Into the Big Tent

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of Billy Graham’s 1949 evangelistic campaign in Los Angeles, the Billy Graham Center Archives at Wheaton College launched an online exhibit in 2009. "This exhibit will enlighten and engage the casual visitor, as well as the person who wants to study America in 1949 and the early days of Rev. Graham’s ministry," said archivist Bob Shuster.
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Billy Graham Preaches at Rose Bowl 55 Years Later

Many have heard of the "Big Tent" at the corner of Washington and Hill streets in downtown Los Angeles, where Billy Graham held his historic 1949 Crusade. But fewer people know about the adjacent "Little Tent"—the prayer tent, where Christians poured out their hearts in prayer for the people of Los Angeles. Cliff Barrows, who has worked side by side with Billy Graham for 60 years, remembers well the prayer tent.
Read the "Decision" article »

A Passion for the Lost

Willie Jordan attended every meeting of the 1949 Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusade. The experience fired her passion for the lost, leading her to join the Fred Jordan Mission—where she and her husband, Fred, ran ministries that are still proclaiming the Gospel to society's outcasts.
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