Window display out of this world
Gloria Powell stands in front of the Halloween window display she created at the Looking Glass on Fourth Street in Coeur d'Alene.
BILL BULEY/Press
COEUR d’ALENE — If it looks like aliens are invading Coeur d’Alene just in time for Halloween, blame Gloria Powell.
She created the unearthly window display at the Looking Glass on Fourth Street. It depicts four strange-looking creatures, including a freaky head protruding from a saucer-like spaceship, and what appears to be a human in a white commander suit with a dark, reflective face mask and helmet.
They are accompanied by a sign that reads, “Greeting Earthlings! We have flown with GPS 100 million miles and cannot find Area 51. Can you help us?”
It all makes Powell laugh as she surveys her handiwork.
“Halloween is my best time,” she said.
The Coeur d’Alene woman has long been the visionary behind some of the area’s eye-catching window displays. She studied gallery coordinating and window design at the University of Calgary in Canada and today, at 83, hasn't lost her touch.
Her creativity was highlighted in the display windows at the Wiggett Mall in downtown Coeur d’Alene for nearly two decades before it was renovated.
Her search for materials to bring space strangers to Earth, or other Halloween notables, is never-ending.
“I constantly look for ideas,” she said. “Sometimes I luck out, sometimes I don’t.”
The mannequins are hers, coming from JC Penney following a remodel.
“They took out all the mannequins that had faces and gave them to me," she said.
Powell also collects and sells vintage clothes at the Looking Glass, including Halloween outfits.
She loves to give people good surprises, especially leading up to Oct. 31.
“Last year I had a few alien costumes and they sold real good, so I thought I’d do a window of aliens,” she said.
Passersby have noticed.
Drivers slow to take a look at the life-sized visitors from outer space, two of them in silver suits with eyes that are nearly as big as their heads. A glowing moon looms behind them. One can actually say some words and will soon be moved to greet customers entering the store that hosts antiques and collectables.
Don't fear. This alien is friendly.
"He likes to talk," Powell said.