Est. 2007 · Philadelphia
It started on one corner in Northern Liberties.
In 2007, City Fitness opened its first club at 2nd and Spring Garden in Philadelphia with a simple idea: build a club that feels like a second home. 19 years, eight neighborhoods, and two more on the way — the idea has not changed.
A gym doesn’t have to feel like a gym.
Founder Ken Davies built City Fitness around a simple belief: fitness should improve your whole life, not just one part of it. That belief turned into three promises, made in 2007, that still guide every club City Fitness opens today.
It wasn’t an easy start. City Fitness opened its first club on August 28, 2007 — just months before the 2008 financial crisis hit small businesses across the country. The next few years took everything Ken had: money, credit, and no shortage of chances to walk away. He didn’t. Ken’s Story
Smile
It starts with a smile — but we want to provide members and guests with an inviting experience, not just when they walk in, but throughout the club.
Clean
Beautiful, meticulously clean, and well-maintained spaces across every club City Fitness operates.
Cutting Edge
Continuous and thoughtful evaluation and investment in cutting-edge programming and technology.
One club became a habit worth building on.
City Fitness didn’t grow by outspending anyone on advertising. It grew because members kept saying the same thing: they loved the gym, but they loved the community even more. That’s why no two City Fitness clubs are the same — each one is built to reflect the neighborhood around it, not to copy the last one. Here is how the story has unfolded, corner by corner, since 2007.
Northern Liberties
The first City Fitness opens at 2nd and Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia, built on the three founding promises: smile, clean, and cutting edge.
Graduate Hospital
The second City Fitness opens on South Street, proving the idea could work in a second neighborhood, not just the first.
Fishtown
City Fitness grows into Frankford Avenue, right alongside one of Philadelphia’s fastest changing neighborhoods.
Logan Square
A club opens steps from the Parkway, bringing City Fitness closer to the heart of the city.
East Market
City Fitness arrives in the heart of Center City, built for the neighborhood’s fast pace and long hours.
East Passyunk
South Philly gets its own club, designed around the neighborhood’s tight knit, independent character.
Fairmount
City Fitness opens near the art museum, part of a two club year that doubled the pace of growth.
Old City
The same year, a second club opens near the waterfront, rounding out eight neighborhoods across Philadelphia.
Northern Liberties, Reimagined
The original neighborhood gets a new bi level club, featuring City Fitness’s first year round outdoor heated lap pool with skyline views.
Hoboken, Maxwell Place
City Fitness opens its first club outside of Philadelphia, bringing the same three promises to a new city and a new state.
Hoboken, Southend
A second Hoboken club follows shortly after, giving the neighborhood two City Fitness clubs under one membership.
Swipe, scroll, or use the arrows to explore the timeline
Every neighborhood, the same three promises.
City Fitness has grown into eight clubs across Philadelphia and a community of more than 24,000 members, but the founding promises still anchor everything the brand does. Along the way, City Fitness has invested in the neighborhoods it calls home: hosting concerts, helping build parks, and creating public art installations. A club should make its neighborhood a better place to live, not just a better place to work out.
Smile
Greeted like a neighbor, from the front desk to the floor.
Clean
Meticulously maintained spaces, in every neighborhood, every day.
Cutting Edge
The best equipment, programming, and recovery, always evolving.
The promises are how City Fitness runs its clubs. Train, Recover, Belong is what it feels like to be part of the community.
Now we’re building it in Hoboken.
In 2026, City Fitness opens its first two clubs outside Philadelphia. Same three promises. Same community. Same belief that a club should feel like it belongs to you, from the very first visit.
Maxwell Place
Opening fall 2026Explore memberships