With temperatures soaring and summer well underway, countless Americans will be spending their Independence Day weekend at the beach. Here we revisit some classic images from the turn-of-the-century to the 1930's of vacations by the sea, from Coney Island to Santa Monica.

“A Hawaiian photographer braved freezing temperatures for this cold SNAP – of what appears to be a firebird bursting from an aurora. Keen snapper CJ Kale, more used to sun, sea and sand while at work than snow, captured the incredible moment while on a trip to Alaska. It was his first time seeing the spectacular sight and lucked out – capturing some of the rarest colors of aurora on his first night”. – Caters News

A dark Devon Rex cat is held by its owner during a competition in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, September 26, 2015. More than 300 cats entered the international feline beauty competition in the Romanian capital. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

American photographer Doug Perrine, 60, snapped the shots last year while the False Killer Whale was out hunting for food. (Photo by Doug Perrine/Iber-Press)

A massive positive cloud-to-ground lightning strike hits in Coolidge, Arizona, 31 August 2016. Thousands of rain drops merge to form mammoth travelling sheets of water in these breathtaking monsoons. Veteran storm chaser and photographer Mike Olbinski captured the stunning beauty of monsoons in timelapses and stills while chasing storm systems across America. (Photo by Mike Olbinski/Barcroft Images)

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. The commune's population of around 9,800 ranks 865th within the country of France.

An attendee tries Acton's RocketSkates at the 2015 International CES at the Sands Expo and Convention Center on January 6, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The motorized skates that you strap to your shoes are powered by Lithium Ion batteries and can go up to 12 mph. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)