THE LOS ANGELES EARTHQUAKE : Survivors Grin and Share It on Greenleaf Avenue

A fluorescent yellow sign glowed Saturday from Janet Beauty Supply behind the cordoned sidewalks of Uptown Whittier: “Quake Sale--25% Off.”

Up the street at the Beds and Brass Mattress Outlet, a 10% off “Shake It Up” sale was promoted in script scrawled in spray paint across boarded up windows. And the T-Shirt Shop was open at 8:30 a.m., the first in this town--the place hardest hit by Thursday’s earthquake--to sell the inevitable “I Survived the Whittier Earthquake” T-shirts.

Damage in Millions

Signs of life are reappearing along Greenleaf Avenue, where business owners were getting a first-hand look at the damage after being blocked from their shops since Thursday morning. Police allowed traffic to resume late Friday after city officials finished inspecting buildings in the 24-block district. The toll: 25 to 30 structures condemned, at least twice that many declared unsafe and damage in the millions.

Undaunted, about a dozen businesses reopened Saturday morning.

Business was booming at the T-Shirt Shop, where nearly 30 shirts had been sold at $15 each, with $400 in proceeds to benefit the Whittier Uptown Assn. that represents the district’s 275 businesses. Shelley Seiler, who owns the shop with her husband, Lee, said their business escaped with minimal damage because “everything here is soft.

“We’re down, but we’re not out,” she said, sporting a red “Whittier’s Centennial--a Real Earthshaking Experience” T-shirt. “We want to support the unity of this little community.”

Kitty Flynn of Whittier wandered in to buy one for her 16-month-old son. “It’s a reminder for him. He’s going to wear it when he goes to see his dad in Phoenix,” Flynn said.

Traffic was bumper to bumper on two-lane Greenleaf Avenue, the main drag in Uptown Whittier. Dozens of curiosity seekers roamed the area, many of them with cameras around their necks or carrying video recorders, peering into trashed shops and staring at collapsed buildings with amazement. A corner hot dog stand did a brisk business.

Among the strollers were Pat and Eileen Mulcahy of Whittier. “We’re checking the old haunts to see if they’re still standing,” Eileen said.

A bleak reminder of Thursday’s disaster appeared on the window of Knight’s Flower Shop, on the ground level of a now-condemned building of unreinforced brick. “Rest in Peace” read the ribbon stretched across a black wreath hung above a floral arrangement. White candles on each side of the wreath flickered in the midday heat.

Some Quick to Reopen

Other business owners, like Ron Atkin of Janet Beauty Supply, were able to reopen quickly after city inspectors found their buildings to be structurally safe. “I recruited five volunteers to work until midnight last night to clean things up,” Atkin said.

Next door, Bookland had become the temporary headquarters for the Uptown Assn., whose office was destroyed in the earthquake. About 60 members of the association met at noon Saturday, and were told of offers for free storage and cleanup. Marilyn Neece, executive director of the association, said applications for financial help should be available in about a week.

“Our plan is to help as many people as we can . . . with information to direct them to the proper resources,” said association President Lane Langford, leaning against the counter at Bookland with a cigarette in one hand and a broom in the other.

“We view this as a disaster, but we also view it as an opportunity to redevelop and come back stronger than before.”

There was less optimism at Elias Studio, where city officials had taped a red “unsafe” sign to the front door. For Rick Elias, who owns the art gallery and photography studio along with the building that houses 17 tenants, it was the second natural disaster in seven years. He lost another studio in a fire at the William Penn Hotel down the street, and is unsure whether this building will have to be leveled.

“Even if they don’t let me open my doors, I’m going to run my business. Even if I have to make house calls,” Elias said, adding that the studio escaped with about $10,000 damage.