diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/VirtualList.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/VirtualList.svelte
index cd4ef1b9..d8847b8d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/VirtualList.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/VirtualList.svelte
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 
 <script lang="ts" generics="T">
 	import { onMount } from 'svelte';
+	import { useVirtualWindow } from '$lib/composables/useVirtualWindow.svelte';
 
 	let {
 		items,
@@ -45,59 +46,24 @@
 	let rootEl: HTMLDivElement;
 	/** Measured row pitch in px; 0 until known, then refined from a real row. */
 	let measuredRow = $state(0);
-	let firstRow = $state(0);
-	let lastRow = $state(0);
+	const vw = useVirtualWindow();
 
 	const cols = $derived(Math.max(1, columns));
 	const effRowH = $derived(measuredRow > 0 ? measuredRow : rowHeight);
 	const rowCount = $derived(Math.ceil(items.length / cols));
 	const totalHeight = $derived(rowCount * effRowH);
+
+	// Visible row band, derived from the shared scroll signals + the row pitch.
+	const rh = $derived(effRowH || rowHeight);
+	const firstRow = $derived(Math.max(0, Math.floor(vw.aboveBy / rh) - overscan));
+	const lastRow = $derived(
+		Math.min(rowCount, Math.ceil((vw.aboveBy + vw.viewportH) / rh) + overscan)
+	);
 	const startIndex = $derived(firstRow * cols);
 	const endIndex = $derived(Math.min(items.length, lastRow * cols));
 	const offsetY = $derived(firstRow * effRowH);
 	const visible = $derived(items.slice(startIndex, endIndex));
 
-	let scroller: HTMLElement | null = null;
-
-	/** Nearest scrollable ancestor, or null to mean the window/document. */
-	function findScroller(el: HTMLElement): HTMLElement | null {
-		let node = el.parentElement;
-		while (node) {
-			const oy = getComputedStyle(node).overflowY;
-			if (oy === 'auto' || oy === 'scroll' || oy === 'overlay') return node;
-			node = node.parentElement;
-		}
-		return null;
-	}
-
-	function viewportRect(): { top: number; height: number } {
-		if (scroller) {
-			const r = scroller.getBoundingClientRect();
-			return { top: r.top, height: scroller.clientHeight };
-		}
-		return { top: 0, height: window.innerHeight };
-	}
-
-	function measure(): void {
-		if (!rootEl) return;
-		const { top: vTop, height: vH } = viewportRect();
-		// How far the list's top has scrolled above the viewport top (px).
-		const aboveBy = vTop - rootEl.getBoundingClientRect().top;
-		const rh = effRowH || rowHeight;
-		firstRow = Math.max(0, Math.floor(aboveBy / rh) - overscan);
-		lastRow = Math.min(rowCount, Math.ceil((aboveBy + vH) / rh) + overscan);
-	}
-
-	let ticking = false;
-	function onScroll(): void {
-		if (ticking) return;
-		ticking = true;
-		requestAnimationFrame(() => {
-			ticking = false;
-			measure();
-		});
-	}
-
 	/** Single-column: adopt the real rendered row height once it's known. */
 	function refineRowHeight(): void {
 		if (cols !== 1 || !rootEl) return;
@@ -108,32 +74,12 @@
 	}
 
 	onMount(() => {
-		scroller = findScroller(rootEl);
-		const target: EventTarget = scroller ?? window;
-		target.addEventListener('scroll', onScroll, { passive: true });
-		window.addEventListener('resize', onScroll, { passive: true });
-		const ro = new ResizeObserver(() => onScroll());
-		if (scroller) ro.observe(scroller);
-		ro.observe(rootEl);
-		measure();
+		const stop = vw.observe(rootEl);
 		requestAnimationFrame(() => {
 			refineRowHeight();
-			measure();
+			vw.remeasure();
 		});
-		return () => {
-			target.removeEventListener('scroll', onScroll);
-			window.removeEventListener('resize', onScroll);
-			ro.disconnect();
-		};
-	});
-
-	// Re-window when the dataset size or column count changes (load-more, reload,
-	// viewport breakpoint). `effRowH` is read so a refined height re-runs it too.
-	$effect(() => {
-		void items.length;
-		void cols;
-		void effRowH;
-		measure();
+		return stop;
 	});
 
 	// Refine the measured row height once rows are actually in the DOM.
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/VirtualRows.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/VirtualRows.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fcddbe45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/VirtualRows.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+<script lang="ts" module>
+	/**
+	 * Variable-height windowing list. Unlike {@link VirtualList} (uniform row
+	 * pitch), each row declares its own `height`, so a single list can mix section
+	 * headers and content rows of differing heights — e.g. the photo timeline's
+	 * date headers and (square or justified) tile strips.
+	 *
+	 * It builds a prefix-sum offset table once per `rows` change and binary-searches
+	 * the visible band on scroll, rendering only those rows (plus an overscan
+	 * margin) and reserving the full height with a spacer so the scrollbar and any
+	 * end-of-list sentinel behave exactly as with a fully-rendered list. Declared
+	 * `height` MUST match the rendered row height or rows will drift.
+	 */
+	export interface VirtualRow {
+		/** Rendered height of this row in px (incl. its own bottom gap). */
+		height: number;
+		/** Stable identity; keeps unchanged rows mounted as the window slides. */
+		key?: string | number;
+	}
+
+	export interface VirtualRowsProps<T extends VirtualRow> {
+		rows: T[];
+		/** Extra pixels rendered above and below the viewport. */
+		overscan?: number;
+		windowClass?: string;
+		windowStyle?: string;
+		row: import('svelte').Snippet<[T, number]>;
+	}
+</script>
+
+<script lang="ts" generics="T extends VirtualRow">
+	import { onMount } from 'svelte';
+	import { useVirtualWindow } from '$lib/composables/useVirtualWindow.svelte';
+
+	let {
+		rows,
+		overscan = 600,
+		windowClass = '',
+		windowStyle = '',
+		row
+	}: VirtualRowsProps<T> = $props();
+
+	let rootEl: HTMLDivElement;
+	const vw = useVirtualWindow();
+
+	// offsets[i] = Y of row i; offsets[rows.length] = total height.
+	const offsets = $derived.by(() => {
+		const o = new Array<number>(rows.length + 1);
+		o[0] = 0;
+		for (let i = 0; i < rows.length; i++) o[i + 1] = o[i] + rows[i].height;
+		return o;
+	});
+	const totalHeight = $derived(offsets[rows.length] ?? 0);
+
+	/** First index whose offset is > x. */
+	function upperBound(arr: number[], x: number): number {
+		let lo = 0;
+		let hi = arr.length;
+		while (lo < hi) {
+			const mid = (lo + hi) >> 1;
+			if (arr[mid] <= x) lo = mid + 1;
+			else hi = mid;
+		}
+		return lo;
+	}
+
+	/** First index whose offset is >= x. */
+	function lowerBound(arr: number[], x: number): number {
+		let lo = 0;
+		let hi = arr.length;
+		while (lo < hi) {
+			const mid = (lo + hi) >> 1;
+			if (arr[mid] < x) lo = mid + 1;
+			else hi = mid;
+		}
+		return lo;
+	}
+
+	const band = $derived.by(() => {
+		const n = rows.length;
+		if (n === 0) return { first: 0, last: 0, top: 0 };
+		const topPx = vw.aboveBy - overscan;
+		const botPx = vw.aboveBy + vw.viewportH + overscan;
+		let first = upperBound(offsets, topPx) - 1; // row straddling/just above the top
+		if (first < 0) first = 0;
+		let last = lowerBound(offsets, botPx); // exclusive: first row starting at/after bottom
+		if (last < first + 1) last = first + 1;
+		if (last > n) last = n;
+		return { first, last, top: offsets[first] };
+	});
+
+	const visible = $derived(rows.slice(band.first, band.last));
+
+	onMount(() => vw.observe(rootEl));
+</script>
+
+<div bind:this={rootEl} class="vrows" style:height="{totalHeight}px">
+	<div
+		class="vrows__window {windowClass}"
+		style="transform: translateY({band.top}px); {windowStyle}"
+	>
+		{#each visible as r, i (r.key ?? band.first + i)}
+			{@render row(r, band.first + i)}
+		{/each}
+	</div>
+</div>
+
+<style>
+	.vrows {
+		position: relative;
+		width: 100%;
+	}
+
+	.vrows__window {
+		position: absolute;
+		inset: 0 0 auto;
+		will-change: transform;
+	}
+</style>
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/composables/useVirtualWindow.svelte.ts b/frontend/src/lib/composables/useVirtualWindow.svelte.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9f7db2d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/composables/useVirtualWindow.svelte.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+/**
+ * Shared scroll-window tracker for windowing lists. Reactively reports how far a
+ * list element's top has scrolled above the nearest scrollable ancestor's
+ * viewport (`aboveBy`, px) and that viewport's height (`viewportH`).
+ *
+ * `VirtualList` (uniform rows) and `VirtualRows` (variable-height, section-aware
+ * rows) each derive their own visible slice from these two signals, so the
+ * scroll-ancestor detection and the rAF-throttled measurement live in exactly
+ * one place. Ancestor-based (not its own scroll box) so it drops into an
+ * existing scroll container without changing the single-scrollbar UX.
+ */
+export class VirtualWindow {
+	/** Pixels of the list scrolled above the viewport top (negative until reached). */
+	aboveBy = $state(0);
+	/** Height of the scrollable viewport in px. */
+	viewportH = $state(0);
+
+	#root: HTMLElement | null = null;
+	#scroller: HTMLElement | null = null;
+	#ticking = false;
+
+	/** Nearest scrollable ancestor, or null to mean the window/document. */
+	#findScroller(el: HTMLElement): HTMLElement | null {
+		let node = el.parentElement;
+		while (node) {
+			const oy = getComputedStyle(node).overflowY;
+			if (oy === 'auto' || oy === 'scroll' || oy === 'overlay') return node;
+			node = node.parentElement;
+		}
+		return null;
+	}
+
+	#measure = (): void => {
+		const root = this.#root;
+		if (!root) return;
+		const rootTop = root.getBoundingClientRect().top;
+		if (this.#scroller) {
+			this.aboveBy = this.#scroller.getBoundingClientRect().top - rootTop;
+			this.viewportH = this.#scroller.clientHeight;
+		} else {
+			this.aboveBy = -rootTop;
+			this.viewportH = window.innerHeight;
+		}
+	};
+
+	#onScroll = (): void => {
+		if (this.#ticking) return;
+		this.#ticking = true;
+		requestAnimationFrame(() => {
+			this.#ticking = false;
+			this.#measure();
+		});
+	};
+
+	/** Begin observing `root`; returns a teardown to call from `onMount`. */
+	observe(root: HTMLElement): () => void {
+		this.#root = root;
+		this.#scroller = this.#findScroller(root);
+		const target: EventTarget = this.#scroller ?? window;
+		target.addEventListener('scroll', this.#onScroll, { passive: true });
+		window.addEventListener('resize', this.#onScroll, { passive: true });
+		const ro = new ResizeObserver(this.#onScroll);
+		if (this.#scroller) ro.observe(this.#scroller);
+		ro.observe(root);
+		this.#measure();
+		return () => {
+			target.removeEventListener('scroll', this.#onScroll);
+			window.removeEventListener('resize', this.#onScroll);
+			ro.disconnect();
+		};
+	}
+
+	/** Force a synchronous re-measure (e.g. just after rows first render). */
+	remeasure(): void {
+		this.#measure();
+	}
+}
+
+export function useVirtualWindow(): VirtualWindow {
+	return new VirtualWindow();
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/photos/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/photos/+page.svelte
index 3dab174c..91a5e4f9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/photos/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/photos/+page.svelte
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 	import PeopleView from '$lib/components/PeopleView.svelte';
 	import PhotoLightbox from '$lib/components/PhotoLightbox.svelte';
 	import PlacesMap from '$lib/components/PlacesMap.svelte';
+	import VirtualRows from '$lib/components/VirtualRows.svelte';
 	import { useSelection } from '$lib/composables/useSelection.svelte';
 	import { errorToast } from '$lib/utils/errors';
 	import { onMount } from 'svelte';
@@ -138,6 +139,60 @@
 		return rows;
 	}
 
+	// ── Virtualized row model ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+	// Flatten the groups into a single list of fixed-height rows (a date header
+	// or a strip of sized tiles), so VirtualRows can window the whole timeline —
+	// only the rows near the viewport are mounted, regardless of library size.
+	const SQUARE_GAP = 4; // .25rem, matches the old grid gap
+	const SQUARE_MIN = 144; // 9rem minmax floor
+	const JUSTIFIED_GAP = 8; // .photos-jrow margin-bottom
+	const HEADER_H = 44;
+
+	type PhotoRow =
+		| { kind: 'header'; key: string; height: number; label: string; count: number }
+		| { kind: 'tiles'; key: string; height: number; gap: number; tiles: JustifiedTile[] };
+
+	const photoRows = $derived.by<PhotoRow[]>(() => {
+		const W = gridWidth;
+		if (W <= 0) return [];
+		const rows: PhotoRow[] = [];
+		const cols = Math.max(1, Math.floor((W + SQUARE_GAP) / (SQUARE_MIN + SQUARE_GAP)));
+		const cell = (W - (cols - 1) * SQUARE_GAP) / cols;
+		for (const g of groups) {
+			rows.push({
+				kind: 'header',
+				key: `h:${g.key}`,
+				height: HEADER_H,
+				label: g.label,
+				count: g.photos.length
+			});
+			if (layoutMode === 'justified') {
+				const jrows = justifiedRows(g.photos, W);
+				for (let ri = 0; ri < jrows.length; ri++) {
+					rows.push({
+						kind: 'tiles',
+						key: `${g.key}:j${ri}`,
+						height: jrows[ri].height + JUSTIFIED_GAP,
+						gap: JUSTIFIED_GAP,
+						tiles: jrows[ri].tiles
+					});
+				}
+			} else {
+				for (let i = 0; i < g.photos.length; i += cols) {
+					const tiles = g.photos.slice(i, i + cols).map((file) => ({ file, w: cell, h: cell }));
+					rows.push({
+						kind: 'tiles',
+						key: `${g.key}:s${i}`,
+						height: cell + SQUARE_GAP,
+						gap: SQUARE_GAP,
+						tiles
+					});
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		return rows;
+	});
+
 	async function loadMore() {
 		if (loading || exhausted) return;
 		loading = true;
@@ -408,31 +463,23 @@
 	{:else}
 		<div class="photos-area">
 			<div class="photos-measure" bind:clientWidth={gridWidth}>
-				{#each groups as group (group.key)}
-					<h2 class="photos-group">
-						{group.label} <span class="photos-group__count">{group.photos.length}</span>
-					</h2>
-					{#if layoutMode === 'justified' && gridWidth > 0}
-						{#each justifiedRows(group.photos, gridWidth) as row, ri (group.key + '-' + ri)}
-							<div class="photos-jrow" style:height="{row.height}px">
-								{#each row.tiles as cell (cell.file.id)}
-									{@render tile(cell.file, `width:${cell.w}px;height:${cell.h}px`)}
-								{/each}
-							</div>
-						{/each}
-					{:else}
-						<ul class="photos">
-							{#each group.photos as photo (photo.id)}
-								<li
-									class="photos__cell photos__cell--square"
-									class:selected={selected.has(photo.id)}
-								>
-									{@render tile(photo)}
-								</li>
-							{/each}
-						</ul>
-					{/if}
-				{/each}
+				{#if photoRows.length}
+					<VirtualRows rows={photoRows} overscan={1000}>
+						{#snippet row(r)}
+							{#if r.kind === 'header'}
+								<div class="photos-group" style:height="{r.height}px">
+									{r.label} <span class="photos-group__count">{r.count}</span>
+								</div>
+							{:else}
+								<div class="photos-strip" style:height="{r.height}px" style:gap="{r.gap}px">
+									{#each r.tiles as cell (cell.file.id)}
+										{@render tile(cell.file, `width:${cell.w}px;height:${cell.h}px`)}
+									{/each}
+								</div>
+							{/if}
+						{/snippet}
+					</VirtualRows>
+				{/if}
 			</div>
 		</div>
 	{/if}
@@ -566,8 +613,13 @@
 		padding: 0 1rem;
 	}
 
+	/* Date header — fixed height (set inline) so the virtualizer's offset table
+	   matches the rendered layout exactly. */
 	.photos-group {
-		margin: var(--space-4) 0 var(--space-2);
+		display: flex;
+		align-items: center;
+		gap: var(--space-2);
+		margin: 0;
 		font-size: 1rem;
 		color: var(--color-text-heading);
 	}
@@ -578,20 +630,11 @@
 		font-weight: var(--weight-normal);
 	}
 
-	.photos {
-		list-style: none;
-		margin: 0;
-		padding: 0;
-		display: grid;
-		grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(9rem, 1fr));
-		gap: 0.25rem;
-	}
-
-	/* Justified rows: a flex row of aspect-preserving tiles. */
-	.photos-jrow {
+	/* A horizontal strip of explicitly-sized tiles — one virtualized row, used by
+	   both the square and justified layouts (the bottom gap is baked into the
+	   row's declared height). */
+	.photos-strip {
 		display: flex;
-		gap: 8px;
-		margin-bottom: 8px;
 	}
 
 	.photo-tile {
@@ -601,16 +644,6 @@
 		background: var(--color-bg-muted);
 	}
 
-	.photos__cell--square,
-	.photos__cell--square .photo-tile {
-		aspect-ratio: 1;
-		height: 100%;
-	}
-
-	.photos__cell--square {
-		list-style: none;
-	}
-
 	.photo-tile.selected {
 		outline: 3px solid var(--color-accent);
 		outline-offset: -3px;