The Barracks on Bourbon is usually moved with heavy-duty rigging, not by “driving” it anywhere. In practice, large structures like that are lifted, supported, and rolled or carried on specialized equipment so the building stays intact while crews shift it to a new location.
How the move works
The first step is making the structure stable enough to move. Crews typically brace the building, disconnect utilities, and separate it from the foundation so the load can be controlled during the lift. From there, the building is raised with hydraulic jacks and set onto a transport system such as dollies, rollers, or a steel frame designed to spread the weight evenly.
Once it is on the moving system, the structure can be guided slowly along a prepared route. That route has to account for width, height, turning space, overhead lines, street furniture, and the load-bearing capacity of the ground or pavement. For a building on a dense street like Bourbon, the job is as much about planning and permits as it is about machinery.
Why it looks surprising
To bystanders, the move can look almost impossible because the building may seem too large or too fragile to budge. But old structures are often moved this way when preservation, renovation, or site changes make relocation the better option than demolition. The move is slow on purpose, because the real goal is not speed but keeping the building from twisting, cracking, or settling unevenly.
What people often get wrong
People sometimes imagine a building being picked up whole by a crane and dropped somewhere else. That is rarely how it happens for a full structure of this kind. More often, the work is a coordinated process of jacking, blocking, rolling, and inching the building forward under tight control. If the structure has an unusual shape, crews may need extra reinforcement before the move can begin.
The simple answer
So, how do they move the Barracks on Bourbon? They move it with specialized house-moving equipment, careful bracing, and a preplanned route, shifting the building bit by bit rather than lifting it like a single object.