David Cantrill tenderly unwrapped a tuxedo jacket and dress shirt once worn by Peter Kirk, the man who came to Puget Sound from England with a vision of creating a steel-mill town.

The mill Kirk built never produced an ounce of steel, but his namesake city lived on and is preparing to celebrate a new century. "If that mill had [gone] through, Kirkland would not be the city it is today," Cantrill, archivist for the Kirkland Heritage Society, said yesterday. "He wanted this to be the Pittsburgh of the West."

Kirk's clothes and other memorabilia will be included in a Kirkland Centennial display of historic photographs and artifacts at Heritage Hall, 203 Market St. The exhibit is among scores of events and celebrations planned for the coming year.

The centennial celebration will kick off Wednesday with a night of skits featuring historic Kirkland figures, speeches by local officials, and birthday cake. The free event starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Kirkland Performance Center, 350 Kirkland Ave.

Other events include Founder's Day/Peter Kirk's Birthday on Feb. 15; the city's July Fourth celebration, which will focus on the centennial; and a 100th-birthday party planned at Peter Kirk Park on Oct. 12 — the day in 1905 that the city was incorporated.

John Kellett, left, was Peter Kirk's chief engineer; Peter Kirk, center, was a manufacturer; Walter Williams, right, was Kirk's secretary.

And on top of it all, exhibits on the highlights of the city's history will rotate through City Hall through October, and historical vignettes will be aired on the city's local cable-access channel.

"We want people to see what has happened here over the years, and how it's shaped where we are at today, and where we are heading," said Bob Burke, a member of the centennial committee.

The city began with Kirk, who moved to America from Workington, England, in 1886. Ore deposits in the Cascade Mountains brought him west, and he set up a home on the shore of Lake Washington. He tried to build a steel mill, but an economic crash in 1893 killed the project, Cantrill said. Kirk later moved to San Juan Island, where he died in 1916.

When Kirkland incorporated in 1905, the population was 400. Today it's more than 45,000.

The city was also home to a wool mill, which produced clothing for Alaska Gold Rush prospectors, and for the U.S. military during World War I, Cantrill said. The city had a thriving shipbuilding industry, and for many years most of the boats on Lake Washington were either built or repaired in Kirkland.

"This city has seen a great deal of transformation," said Merrily Dicks, who has lived in the city since the 1930s and who sits on the Kirkland Cultural Council.

"We're honoring the past, and seeing our dreams and desires for the future."

Rachel Tuinstra: 206-515-5637 or rtuinstra@seattletimes.com