Q:

What's the deal with this (fake?) chimney on my house?

I have a 1950's cape cod, which I moved into earlier this year.
The home was not advertised as having a fireplace and I certainly do not see any indication that there was or could've ever been one here. 
Having said that, there's a chimney on one side of the house. My dad said that if there's a chimney that can only be because there was a fireplace, so it must've just been built over. 
The indoor parts of the house that the chimney aligns with are just

my small dining room
the attic (now converted into extra bedrooms)
the unfinished part of my basement, behind the washer and dryer, along the ugly brick walls

I don't see any possible way there could've ever been a fireplace in any of these places. I also have no idea what the point of a fake chimney would be. I'd love to have a fireplace and I'm just curious, so if you can shed any light I would appreciate it.

A:

Your dad is wrong. Chimneys have been used for non-fireplace heating systems since the days of the Franklin Stove.
Also, remember that the interior of the house may have been drastically rearranged over the years. My kitchen definitely isn't where it was when the place was built, and in fact the old kitchen space is now my dining room.
The only way to be sure what's going on is to get a look at the chimney itself, and see what kinds of openings may have existed and then been bricked up, or to research your house's history.

