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.

Only after World War II did the secret spill: Ōkunoshima, located in the Inland Sea of Japan between Hiroshima and Shikoku, was the top-secret site for manufacturing chemical warfare. When the factories were closed down, a number of exotic wild rabbits were seen freely roaming the island. They were assumed to have been the test subjects for the chemical weapons, which the military failed to eradicate when the factory was demolished.

Life-sized body cast statues of “Another Place” created by the artist Antony Gormley look out to sea on April 12, 2011 in Crosby, England. Prospective Liberal Democrat candidiate Jack Colbert says the upkeep of the statues costs GBP 250,00 annually and they should be scrapped with the money being spent on frontline services. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

“Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo. He appeared in numerous films and television guest roles and was nominated for an Academy Award twice (for 1960's Murder, Inc. and 1961's Pocketful of Miracles), and won the Emmy Award on five occasions (four for Columbo) and the Golden Globe award once. Director William Friedkin, when discussing Falk's role in his 1978 film The Brink's Job said that «Peter has a great range from comedy to drama. He could break your heart or he could make you laugh»”. – Wikipedia

Photo: American actor Peter Falk, best known for his role as TV detective Columbo. (Photo by Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images). 4th October 1965

A miner with a donkey makes his way through the low and narrow tunnel leading out of a coal mine in Choa Saidan Shah in Punjab province, April 29, 2014. Workers at this mine in Choa Saidan Shah dig coal with pick axes, break it up and load it onto donkeys to be transported to the surface. Employed by private contractors, a team of four workers can dig about a ton of coal a day, for which they earn around $10 to be split between them. The coalmine is in the heart of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous and richest province, but the labourers mostly come from the poorer neighbouring region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (Photo by Sara Farid/Reuters)

The sun sets over the sea looking towards Lands End viewed from Gwenver beach near Sennen Cove on February 7, 2011 in Cornwall, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Titicaca or Titiqaqa is a large, deep lake in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. By volume of water, it is the largest lake in South America. Lake Maracaibo has a larger surface area, though some consider it to be a large brackish bay due to its direct connection with the sea.