Photos: Hydra takes window displays to a new level
Joe Susco, co-owner of Hydra, is behind the elaborate window displays for the clothing store at Congress St. and 6th Ave. in downtown Tucson. 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco, co-owner of Hydra, works in one of the side windows as he decorates them with a Halloween theme. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco keeps boxes of props for major holidays in the attic of the store. He pulled out a couple of skulls to place in the windows for a Halloween theme. He says he has a lot of antiques as his home, he will try and use them in the windows whenever possible. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco spent two days designing the windows along Sixth Avenue and on Congress Street with a Halloween theme. After dressing the mannequins and laying out props, Joe walks in and out of the store to check his work. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco uses costumes that are for sale in the store to dress mannequins for the window display. His father used to design windows for Marshall Field’s, an upscale department store in Chicago, in 1949. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco puts the finishing touches on a mannequin before placing it back in a display window. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco places a mannequin back into a display window after outfitting it with a sailor costume. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Dracula waits to be placed into the window.
Joe Susco
Joe Susco co-owns Hydra, 145 E Congress Street, with his sister Margo Susco. Joe moved to Tucson three years ago after operating Hydra II in Italy. Margo says her brother has brought an artistic eye to the windows and patrons have noticed. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco, co-owner of Hydra, 145 E Congress Street, works on dressing a mannequin in a costume for a Halloween themed window display. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco co-owns Hydra, 145 E Congress Street, with his sister Margo Susco. Joe moved to Tucson three years ago after operating Hydra II in Italy. He says he wanted to start making more elaborate window displays to try and draw people into the store. At the time, modern streetcar construction was underway and many patrons avoided coming to downtown. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco says he's a Stephen King fan and wanted to recreate the prom scene from the 1976 film, "Carrie." Susco says he generally will sketch out his ideas so he knows what items he needs to make and what antiques he can use from his home. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Downtown life continues as Joe Susco decorates the windows of the store for Halloween. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Crouched down in the alleyway behind the store, Joe Susco spray paints stars that he cut out as part of the Halloween display for the front window. With a limited budget, Joe tries to make many of his decorations by hand rather than buying them. Tuesday September 22, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco, co-owner of Hydra, 145 E Congress Street, staples in his background which will be the backdrop for a scene from the film "Carrie." Wednesday September 23, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco staples in streamers that will be part of the backdrop for his window display. Susco is recreating the famous prom scene from the film, "Carrie." Wednesday September 23, 2015
Joe Susco
Margo Susco says she and her brother, Joe, used to decorate the windows in a minimalist way, but “people thought we were a museum,” so Joe initiated elaborate designs.
Margo and Joe Susco
Joe Susco and his sister, Margo, co-owners of Hydra, 145 E Congress Street, stand outside their store as Joe shows Margo the progress on the window display that shows the prom scene from the 1976 film, “Carrie.” Wednesday September 23, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco hangs up the bucket of "blood" in the main window of the store as he decorates it for Halloween. Susco recreated the famous prom scene from the 1976 film, "Carrie."
Joe Susco
Joe Susco, co-owner of Hydra, pops in out and of the window displays to help customers look at jewelry and other items. Decorating the windows gives Joe another creative outlet. Wednesday September 23, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco cut out and drew eyes to mimic those of the character Carrie from the 1976 film, "Carrie." Wednesday September 23, 2015
Joe Susco
Joe Susco stands back and takes a look at the hours of work he put into recreating the prom scene from the 1976 film, "Carrie." Susco says out of the three years of designing the windows, this is the first time he's picked a scene from a movie to recreate. Wednesday September 23, 2015
Joe Susco
"Everytime I come by I look in the window," says Delray Martinez, second from left, "It's pretty cool, it's nice to see the store in the spirit." Martinez walked by with his friend, Romelda Lopez as Joe Susco worked inside the window of the store. Susco says people will often come into the store to comment on how much they enjoy the window displays. Wednesday September 23, 2015
Joe Susco
One of Hydra’s most notable window designs was a scene from “Carrie,” complete with a bucket of blood.
Hydra of Tucson's Joe Susco brings a retro feel to his elaborate window displays.
Hydra co-owner: "time to move on to the next life experience."