Visitors browse in the starry Art Museum. Shanghai, China, May 13, 2020. The exhibition hall uses a large number of mirror devices, combined with the layout of acousto-optic, to create a visual scene and spatial effect. (Photo by Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

A protester clashes with riot police officers during a protest against the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2022, near the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, Thailand on November 18, 2022. (Photo by Tanat Chayaphattharitthee/Reuters)

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.

This bat gives a cheeky smile as he gobbles down his food at Singapore Zoo, on September 10, 2013. (Photo by Benny Iskander/HotSpot Media)

A protester is sprayed by a Department of Homeland Security officer outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (Photo by Jenny Kane/AP Photo)

Professor Xie Yong works on an art installation of a beaver, which is made out of plastic and around 300,000 needles, in Shenyang, Liaoning province, July 23, 2013. The needles, according to Xie, represent the pain felt by animals when their fur is taken off to produce clothing. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Coral grows in a sculpture at the MUSZIF underwater museum in Isla Fuerte, Bolivar department, Colombia, on May 22, 2024. In the Colombian Caribbean an underwater museum protects coral reefs threatened by tourism and climate change. (Photo by Luis Acosta/AFP Photo)

A man applies colored powder on his friend's face during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The festival heralds the arrival of spring. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)