Blog

By Brent Hoffmann, 2005

The Chicago pedway’s in the news, particularly in the Chicago Tribune. Including an article in June 21, 2015, “Unraveling the Hidden Secrets of Chicago Pedway”; followed by a story in Jan. of 2017, “Confused by Chicago Pedway System? It’s Not Just You”; followed by an Eric Zorn column on Dec. 9, 2018, “Pedway Odysseys Point the Way to Clearer Future”; then an indictment on page one of the Jan. 7, 2019, edition: “Why Parts of the Pedway Can be Such a Mess in the Winter.”

The increasing news coverage has generated great interest in the pedway and our pedway tour. So it’s logical to ask if CAC might plan a version for non-English-speaking visitors. Say, in French. “Not likely,” says French-speaker Emily Clott, one of more than a dozen docents who leads the pedway tour. “Most of our tourees are Chicagoans and suburbanites. Basically, they want to know how to get around the Loop in the winter without venturing outdoors or getting lost,” she explains. “The tour is unusual because it’s hard to orient tourees to their exact whereabouts underground. So to help them understand where they are, we hand out maps. We also make ground-level stops at City Hall, Daley Center, Cultural Center, Aon Center and other buildings along the route.”

If there is ever a French-language pedway tour, Emily wants to lead it. “I enjoy being an ambassador to visitors from francophone countries,” she continues.

Educated in French
Emily, who grew up in Bradley, Illinois, earned her BA in French, with minors in English and education, at St. Xavier University in Chicago. At age 19, she spent the summer in Paris to better learn conversational French. She taught French and English for 20 years at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School and Morgan Park Academy, both in south side Chicago. To enhance the French program at Morgan Park, she planned and chaperoned student trips to France. “Over the years,” she says, “I’ve been to Paris nine times: as a student, four times as a French teacher with student groups, with a docent friend, and three times with my husband and family.”

In 2004 and 2006 Emily worked with Jean Linsner, then VP of youth education at CAF, to develop a three-day architecture program for students. “On the first day,” explains Emily, “CAF docents presented a lecture and slide show of Chicago’s historic architecture to my students, then led them on the Historic Tour. The second day, they presented Modernism and the Modern Tour. And on the third day, we traveled to Oak Park to visit Frank Lloyd Wright sites. I was impressed by the docents and CAF, and decided I’d like to get involved with CAF when I retired from teaching.”

Encyclopedia Britannica
Between teaching gigs in 1988, Emily signed on as a full-time project manager at Encyclopedia Britannica Education Corp., then located across the street from CAF’s former headquarters on Michigan Ave. “I helped develop a program called Geographic Inquiry into Global Issues, or GIGI for short,” she says. “GIGI was the result of an NSF grant, and consisted of 20 modules, each exploring a particular issue such as hunger, human rights, or the environment through a geographic lens using case studies and multi-media materials. As project manager, I supervised the publication of the materials, and conducted summer teacher training workshops with geography professors from University of Colorado, Boulder. ”

After retiring, Emily completed the docent training in 2012. In addition to the Chicago Pedway Tour, she’s certified to lead the Chicago Architecture: A Walk Through Time, Discover Chicago: Open-top Bus, Historic Skyscrapers, River Cruise and Private River Charters, and River Walk Talk tours. “Along with a handful of other docents, I also lead a French version of the Chicago Architecture: A Walk Through Time tour that includes both historic and modern buildings.”

Our French-speaking visitors don’t just come from France,” she continues. “We have tourees from Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and francophone countries in Africa and the Middle East. Often, we have Americans hosting French-speaking friends in our groups, as well as American French teachers who bring their students on tours to strengthen their listening and speaking skills.”

In addition to docenting…
Emily is serving her fourth year as a member of the Docent Council. She’s active on the Education and Communications Committees, and co-chaired Docent Appreciation Night in 2017. She assists with docent training, and in 2014 was recognized with a docent service award for her contributions to the Core Values Committee.

She’s a mentor for Latina girls at Our Lady of Tepeyac High School in Little Village, conducts volunteer orientations for Little Brothers, Friends of the Elderly,  and is a member of the Chicago Bar Association Chorus. Emily and her husband Chris love spending time with their four adult children and five grandchildren, most of whom live in the Chicago area. They travel extensively, often as part of his work as a professor at State University of New York Maritime College in the Bronx, NYC.

“We don’t always go to French-speaking countries,” insists Emily. In 2017, she visited Jen Masengarb at her new job at the Danish Architecture Center in Copenhagen, Denmark. “She gave us a tour of her workplace, called BLOX, designed by Rem Koolhaas/OMA. Jen reminded us that architecture and culture vary greatly from country to country. And for travelers to really appreciate that difference, nothing is more important than connecting to a local person — like a docent. Jen said, ‘Be proud and know that our work is of terrific importance’.”

And Emily adds, “Her words are an inspiration for all of us at CAC as we represent Chicago to visitors from near and far.