The beam divides the kitchen in half. The back half was added after the main basement was poured, and has a concrete block foundation that does not open up to the rest of the basement, so the back half of the kitchen has freezing floors. The kitchen addition was built the same time as the rest of the house, according to neighbors who have lived here since 1950. I guess these tract homes did not allow for much variation in design. We also have the only attached garage in the sub.