A Beautiful New Look in North Revere: Large Mural at Clean Joe Building Receives Praise

Josef Koch is the owner of Clean Joe, a company that has a proven expertise in cleaning and restoration services.

A few months ago, Koch took a walk past the back of his building in North Revere.

“It was a plain building that was sometimes graffitied on, and there were weeds growing up against it,” said Koch. “So, we just decided to give back to the city and put a beautiful mural on the side of the building.”

Goal accomplished.

Koch’s Clean Joe building is now the talk of the neighborhood, unlocking a stunning piece of artwork for all – motorists, neighbors, and people who use the adjacent path for bicycling – to see.

Koch brought on board Blake Whitaker, a Los Angeles-based muralist, for the project.

“Josef hired me to paint the side of this building, and he had an idea what he wanted,” related Whitaker. “And he let me run with and do the design.”

The design takes a page out of the Revere history books, showcasing the famous clock at Revere Beach, and a locomotive train.

“Back in the day, the train used to go on what is now the bike path, and workers would off-load lumber to the lumberyard where the building is now,” said Koch.

Also prominently featured on the 340-foot mural are a Revere fire engine with a ladder, and a police car, meant as a tribute to Revere’s first responders. A Clean Joe truck, which handles restorations following fires, is also displayed on the mural.

For the project, Blake used exterior latex paint, which is a paint primer, “and I just bought the base colors and mixed all my own colors based on the design.”

Blake used an off-train-lift which allowed him to reach the highest point (20 feet) of the building.

“I’m really happy with the way the mural  turned out,” said Blake. “It was a tough project, but now I can start to celebrate. It was a lot of work.”

Whitaker said the project took about six weeks. “I’m a seasoned, mural painter. I’ve been painting murals professionally for five years. This [mural] was definitely the largest, and the layout was difficult, but I’ve completed 80 large paintings. This was a collaborative effort with Josef. It was great to work with him,” said Whitaker, who holds an MFA degree (2017) from CalArts in Experimental Animation.

Whitaker said he could be back in Revere for another major art project in the future.

Josef Koch celebrated the completion of the mural with a staff clambake last Friday.