Quakes actually direct their energy in many cases like rayguns. It's not surprising at all that you would have had more damage from Whittier....I presume you are further south in the LA area.
My home is on a newly discovered fault that runs under downtown LA. I am in the Silverlake range ... an off shoot of downtown LA.
The Whittier quake appeared to "twist" the structure ... not so much shake.