Who stole the wall

Note: This post is late.  I started this morning and never pressed "publish."  *sigh* It's just one of those days.
 
As soon as you walk in the front door of the front house, you run into a wall.  It made a long narrow corridor into the kitchen.  To open the front door, you all but had to stand on the steps upstairs.
 

 
After we removed the drywall and plaster (yes, there was drywall OVER the plaster {shakes head}) we realized that a previous owner had cut the main beam above to put in duct work for heat. 
 
You cut the main beam!?!?!
 
As I was working upstairs, and Walt Kowalski was working downstairs, he could see the ceiling above him sag every time I walked. So politely he said "I don't mean to say you weigh a lot, but I don't think the floor can handle your weight.  I don't think you should be working above me right now."
 
He was right.  Where the floor register was located, there was no support.  I could have easily fallen through.
 
 

So we built a wall.  The 2x4s of this new wall are pounded in tight to hold up the second floor.  The old wall is not even touching the ceiling beams.  The only reason the old wall is still standing upright is because of all of the lathe attached. 
 

 
The old wall came down and went straight to the burn pile.

 
Wow, did this make the living room/entrance look big!

 
We also added three support beams in the basement to push up.  Of course, there was no support from the basement up to the first floor either.  Now the basement beams are supporting the first floor new wall supporting the second floor supporting the attic. 

(FYI, Walt Kowalski did more than stand at the railing between the first photo and the last photo.  )