Aaron Wunsch

Aaron Wunsch (1970-2024) taught architectural and landscape history in Penn’s Graduate Program in Historic Preservation and served as a key advisor to CPCRS. Wunsch completed a B.A. in History from Haverford College, an M.A. in Architectural History from the University of Virginia, and a Doctorate in Architectural History from the University of California, Berkeley.  His 2009 dissertation was entitled “Parceling the Picturesque: ‘Rural’ Cemeteries and Urban Context in Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia.” Building on that work, he curated an exhibition on Laurel Hill Cemetery at the Library Company of Philadelphia and wrote several scholarly articles and encyclopedia entries. He was the author of Palazzos of Power: Central Stations of the Philadelphia Electric Company, 1900-1930 (Princeton Architectural Press, 2016) and began two books on Philadelphia cemeteries, including a monograph on Laurel Hill.  Professor Wunsch also had a longstanding interest in African-American buildings and landscapes. His work in this arena included histories of Charlottesville, Virginia's park system, Philadelphia's Bethel Burial Ground, and Bethel AME Church, Germantown. He contributed to numerous preservation projects with Black congregations and institutions in Greater Philadelphia until his passing in 2024.