[Porsche-O-Phile]

It may also be picking up shear, which a beam alone might not be able to handle. Steve is correct - I'd absolutely have a structural engineer or architect look at it and determine whether the wall is simple load-bearing or a shear wall. If it's simply a bearing wall, there are other ways to handle the vertical loads from above and transfer them down to the ground (columns, post-and-beam solutions, longer spans using trusses, or other bearing walls).

In any case you'll likely need spread footings at the base. Do you have a soils report for the property? This might be required depending on the specifics of your property, but the first thing to do is to get someone out there to look at it, then determine what your design objectives are regarding span lengths, etc. You may want to look at the feasibility of creating an opening or archway in the existing wall, keeping the majority of it but allowing for a visual connection between the two spaces. Though this would also require a structural analysis, it would be simpler and you could probably get away with a couple of tube-steel columns and a header (either wood or steel) above the opening to carry the loads above the opening to the remaining parts of the bearing wall on either side. It would certinaly be simpler (and cheaper) than ripping out the entire wall. . . Just something to consider - you just need to decide what balance of cost & design aesthetic is acceptable to you first.

If that is a structural wall (either bearing or shear), that's gonna' be one expensive bar. It can certainly be done, but it sounds like it would be a net loss from a cost-benefit standpoint. If you're going to live in the place for a long time and it means more to you having it than simple cost-benefit justifies, go for it. If you're going to sell the place in the next few years, you may want to reconsider.

It is very unlikely that you'd be granted a building permit for work of this type without structural calculations and drawings done by a licensed professional in any case.

You can do anything you want with regards to design - it's simply a question of dollars and time.