Get lost in the past for a while.

If you find old photos fascinating, especially ones like this one taken at a place much in the news these days--Rockaway Beach--you must bookmark Shorpy.com.

This is a phenomenal resource for the urban historian, the late 19th century historian, the 20th century historian, and anyone else who likes to look into the past.

It's also an addictive website, so if you have five minutes to spare and want to poke around at the thousands of high-res historical photographs, you might find that an hour has gone by.

The site is searchable, although the search engine only looks for words in the title and the captions (which are frustratingly brief), but it's astonishing what you can find.

And all the photos enlarge to amazing size and detail. Click on the original and watch it balloon to proportions that allow you to feel as if you've walked onto the street right there from your desktop. You can do this, of course, from your smartphone, but save any real exploration for your computer screen--the photos are such high quality that you'll want to see them in all their full size. 

So, go look at Shorpy. com and get lost in the past for a while.