Grace Briskman Charleston, 94, formerly of Rittenhouse Square, who was a real estate entrepreneur and a patron of cultural and educational institutions in Philadelphia, died Sept. 24 at Sunrise Senior Living in Cleveland. She moved to Cleveland last year to be near family.

Mrs. Charleston grew up in Center City. Her father, Harry, a Russian Jewish immigrant, operated an ice cream business and a delivery service. Her mother, Deborah, a native of London, took her to concerts and exposed her to the city's cultural life.

She turned down a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania because she developed tuberculosis, her grandson Dan Raddock said. After recovering at the Jersey Shore, she worked in a research laboratory and aspired to be a physician, but her mother felt it wasn't proper work for a woman, her grandson said.

At 18, under her father's direction, Mrs. Charleston bought her first apartment building for $50 at a sheriff's sale in Philadelphia. Through the years she owned many other buildings, including the former Parker and Robert Morris Hotels in Center City. She converted several industrial buildings in Old City to loft apartments in the 1970s, and was still dealing in real estate through the 1980s. "She was an incredible, dynamic businesswoman," her grandson said.

Mrs. Charleston was married to Morton Charleston for more than 35 years. They raised two daughters in Center City apartments because she thought houses were too drafty and too much trouble to clean, her grandson said.

Mrs. Charleston was a patron of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Settlement Music School for more than 40 years. "She promoted music and the arts and was very interested in young people," said Robert Capanna, executive director of Settlement Music School. She was very social and attended all the fund-raisers, and would go to the school's recitals even if the performers were very young and unpolished, he said. She had endowed scholarships for Settlement Music School and funded a fellowship for students at Curtis.

Mrs. Charleston supported Holy Family University and volunteered in the alumni office. Jaye Grochowski, a longtime friend who works there, described Mrs. Charleston as "refined, independent, and resilient."

Though she faced personal loss - her husband died in 1979, a daughter, Linda, died in 2005, and another daughter, Deborah, died in 2007 - "Grace always kept her composure," Grochowski said. "The first time I ever saw her cry was in 2001 when Holy Family named a scholarship in her honor."

"She was very generous," Grochowski said. "When she gave up driving last year, she gave her car to my granddaughter when she found out she needed one."

In addition to her grandson Dan Raddock, Mrs. Charleston is survived by grandsons Michael and Robert Raddock; a brother, Ernie Brydon; and seven great-grandchildren.

A memorial celebration was held at Lacroix Restaurant at the Rittenhouse Hotel on Oct. 25. Burial was in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd.

Contact staff writer Sally A. Downey at 215-854-2913 or sdowney@phillynews.com.