I had a spare 10 mins, tracked the picture down to San Diego . Apparently it's a regular amenity at 24Hr Fitness, as someone also claims there's escalators in front of their Waikiki Beach location in Hawaii.
http://home.sandiego.edu/~bschoch/pics.html (at bottom)
http://www.24hourfitness.com/html/fitness/youth/tips/ (check out tip #2 on this page!!)
So
only in America for shame!!