Yeah, most of my wife's family lived in Whittier at the time. Their house wasn't badly damaged, but a number of wonderful old downtown buildings were. Whittier lost a number of businesses and residents after that, as people learned that insurance didn't cover the damage and they decided to pack up and move. Very sad.
Yes, it was the beginning of the end of the Uptown. Most of the decent shops and merchants (J.C. Penney, Bookland, Danny's Bakery) are now gone. Now we have a glut of stores catering to teenagers (i.e., "urban wear" - gangster clothes) and not much else. Oh yeah, and lots of Mexican restaurants, some good some lousy.
It's really sad to go there now. The gangstas etched all the windows and the merchants just left them that way. The streets are filthy with trash and gum and no one ever picks up the litter, let alone steam cleans them once in awhile. The music store is still there and they still have the Christmas parade, those are the only reasons I ever go there.
Main Street America, RIP.