If will be very difficult to take out the firebox itself without taking out the chimney. The chimney rests on the sides of the firebox. You can easily reuse the chimney for a flue for a stove.
You can remove your raised hearth without any structural impact.

sorry...should have been clearer. If I don't need to remove the firebox, I won't. Just wanted to know how I would go about using the space for a range. Would I just cover up the fire box and then the vent for the hood would go thru the flue? I'm not technically educated in this area. Thanks

Cool idea!
I would imagine that the vent ducting for the hood could go right through the flue -- it's fireproof after all. You may still need the metal ducting for grease.

A masonry chimney is NOT suitable for a kitchen exhaust vent.

Are you planning on using the rest of the wall for counters/cabinets? I think the most difficult thing is going to be running electrical thru the brick.

OK...seems there are quite a few hurdles here that I may not be willing to deal with. I had thought that it might be difficult to run the electric thru there, but hadn't crossed that bridge until I figured out if I could even use the chimney for the vent.

Might need to go back to a different plan. Many thought I was crazy for considering getting rid of the fireplace.

Thanks for the input.

"A masonry chimney is NOT suitable for a kitchen exhaust vent."

What if you run a SS liner? One of those 20' liners that comes in a 2' box. Accordian?

Most codes specify a smooth vent for range hoods and the minimum gauge of the metal.

20 feet of corrugated line is going to render just about ANY vent hood completely ineffective by choking off the air flow.

Why couldn't you run smooth galvanived ducts up the chimney?
Ron

You can vent wood or gas stoves through an existing chimney by installing insulated ductwork inside...Why wouldn't you do the same for the hood vent? It could certainly by smooth inside. I can see where the height might affect the hood's value if you wanted to go up the whole distance, but my hood specs say the duct can run 50 - 60 ft in a straight run 'for adequate performance,' depending on the size of the duct.

Couldn't electrical come up through the floor and conduit (if necessary) be hidden inside cabinetry so that she wouldn't run electrical in the brick? Others on the kitchen forum have existing brick walls, so something must be possible.

"You can vent wood or gas stoves through an existing chimney by installing insulated ductwork inside...Why wouldn't you do the same for the hood vent?"

The temperature of combusion gases is high enough to allow them to move a pretty good distance in a correctly sized flue.
The liners are used in older masonry chimneys in many cases to make sure the gases stay hot enough to avoid condensation before exiting the chimney. Condensation tends to be VERY acidic and will attack masonry (and galvanized liners).

The flow in a vent hood is barely higher than the room temperature of the kitchen.
Cooling or loss of air speed will result in grease collecting and then dripping back down.

Again, being that I am a complete NOVICE here, is there any way to have the range centered on that wall where the firebox is and be able to vent it to the outside. Is there another option if I can't go up the chimney? Would there be a way to vent the range to the outside horizontally instead of vertically? Would I somehow be able to have the vent turn to the right and go out the back of the house?