A little blue penguin which was found at Papamoa Beach, covered in oil after the Liberian cargo ship, Rena, hit a reef, on October 7, 2011, in Tauranga, New Zealand. Reports of an oil sheen have been spotted on the surface of the water surrounding the ship and two penguins have been found covered in oil. (Photo by SUNLIVE New Zealand/Getty Images)

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.

Faithful carry a boat out to sea, filled with offerings to Yemanja, the African sea goddess, during a ceremony honoring the deity in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturday, February 2, 2013. Thousands of worshippers come to the beach in Montevideo on her feast day, February 2, bearing candles, flowers, perfumes and fruit to show their gratitude for her blessings bestowed upon them. The belief in the goddess sprouts from Umbanda, a blend of religions that include African, Catholicism and Spiritism. (Photo by Matilde Campodonico/AP Photo)

Detail of a sand sculpture of Pirates of the Caribbean is seen as pieces are prepared as part of this year's Hollywood themed annual Weston-super-Mare Sand Sculpture festival on March 26, 2013 in Weston-Super-Mare, England. Due to open on Good Friday, currently twenty award winning sand sculptors from across the globe are working to create sand sculptures including Harry Potter, Marilyn Monroe and characters from the Star Wars films as part of the town's very own movie themed festival on the beach. (Photo by Matt Cardy)

Mud-covered tourists pretend to be trapped inside a mud prison at the Daecheon Beach Mud Plaza in the city of Boryeong on South Korea's west coast, July 17, as they take part in the Boryeong Mud Festival, which opened that day and runs through July 26. Boryeong mud is rich in natural mineral component and is considered to prevent skin aging. (Photo by EPA/Yonhap)