Crashed cars in Finchley Road, north London. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). May 1924

Jimmy Arnold, an overweight boy from Rochester, bites into a cake. (Photo by Reg Birkett/Keystone/Getty Images). 14th April 1951

A chimpanzee bottle-feeds a lamb at Southam Zoo Farm in Warwickshire. The owners of the zoo, Mr and Mrs Clews, bring up many of the animals as their pets; the animals, are, as a result, of a friendly disposition. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 23rd August 1968

An Aden civilian crouching in terror as British soldiers threaten him during Arabian demonstrations in Crater. (Photo by Express Newspapers/Getty Images). 1967

A worker pauses for a sandwich, resting on a girder during the construction of a skycraper. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1930

Three workers demonstrating the different types of gas masks used in mine rescue work. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). December 1925

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.

Battle-weary American troops withdraw from Yong San in Korea. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1950