Cinema in Ipswich has a rich history, with many theatres opening and closing across the town over the past century.

East Anglian Daily Times: Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970 (Image: Archant)

The Odeon, which closed the doors to its Ipswich cinema in St Margaret’s Street in 2005, was known to get particularly creative with its advertising to help boost ticket sales for new films.

East Anglian Daily Times: Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970 (Image: Archant)

In the past, Ipswich town centre has seen a gigantic dragon roaming the streets to ahead of the release of Pete’s Dragon, as well as a giant boxing kangaroo.

East Anglian Daily Times: Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970 (Image: Archant)

These pictures look back to 1970 when a giant ape headed to the town and waited patiently amongst the public to board a bus.

East Anglian Daily Times: Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970 (Image: Archant)

He had a copy of the Evening Star in hand - at a time when it was still a broadsheet - with a headline that read “Kill all humans!”

East Anglian Daily Times: Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970 (Image: Archant)

Perhaps not coincidentally, the unusual character was spotted just as 1970s blockbuster Beneath the Planet of the Apes was about to hit the silver screen across the nation.

East Anglian Daily Times: Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970Not everything at the bus stop was quite as it usually was on this afternoon in 1970 (Image: Archant)