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.

Barneys New York launches Gaga's Workshop with the inflation of the Gaga Spider Balloon at the corner of 23rd and Broadway on November 21, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Barneys New York)

A view of Yarimoglu sinkhole (obruk), caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer in 2009, in Konya province, Turkiye on May 15, 2025. The gigantic pit formed between the fields where intensive irrigation activities are carried out is expanding and growing every year. (Photo by Abdullah Dogan/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The founder of the UK’s only hobby horse club, Zoe Brown, watches on as members enjoy the activity on July 14, 2025. Brown began running competitions to help her own daughter, 11, feel less shame around her pastime. (Photo by South West News Service)

Children playing their smart phone during Lunar New Year's Eve celebrations at Fuk Ling Miau temple on January 28, 2025 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, will begin on January 29, 2025, marking the Year of the Snake. The celebrations, which last for approximately 15 days, are filled with traditional activities such as family gatherings, lion dances, and the exchange of red envelopes, making it a vibrant cultural event observed by Chinese communities worldwide. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Participants compete to do nothing during the Space-out competition at World Expo 2025 on September 27, 2025 in Osaka, Japan. For 90 minutes, participants sat in silence, trying to remain in a dazed state without distraction. The winner was determined not by activity but by calmness maintaining the most stable heart rate amid the lively crowds of the Osaka Expo site. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

A dog jumps into a pool at the “Dogs and Fun” fair at the Westfalenhallen congress centre in Dortmund, western Germany, on May 23, 2025. Until May 25, dog breeds and dog-related shows, activities and products will be presented during the fair at the Messe Dortmund event venue. (Photo by Ina Fassbender/AFP Photo)

A one-and-a-half-month-old orphaned two-toed sloth clings a sloth plush toy at the Panamerican Conservation Association (APPC) during a conservation activity for International Sloth Day, in Panama City, Panama, on October 19, 2025. (Photo by Enea Lebrun/Reuters)