When I bought my house, I had the option to add a fireplace. I refused. First, I didn't want to pay for it, second, I didn't want to clean it, so I would have only used it a handful of times a year, mostly around Christmas. The house I grew up in had a brick fireplace in the living room. I only remember it being lit two or three times at the most. Probably for the same reason I didn't get one, my dad didn't want to clean it.

The big, monolithic blocks standing vertically at the side of the house are today, mostly just show--just a framed box for an 8" steel pipe inside. Possibly many houses you see have a chimney, just not the sort you're looking for.