diff --git a/app/admin/admin.css b/app/admin/admin.css
index dce3557..f2bd358 100644
--- a/app/admin/admin.css
+++ b/app/admin/admin.css
@@ -425,6 +425,14 @@
   border-radius: 6px;
 }
 
+.hero-item-thumb {
+  width: 32px;
+  height: 32px;
+  object-fit: cover;
+  border-radius: 4px;
+  background: #222;
+}
+
 .hero-uuid {
   font-family: monospace;
   font-size: 0.75rem;
@@ -455,6 +463,22 @@
   align-items: center;
   justify-content: space-between;
   padding: 0.6rem 0.75rem;
+  gap: 0.75rem;
+}
+
+.album-card-thumb {
+  flex-shrink: 0;
+  width: 48px;
+  height: 48px;
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  background: #222;
+}
+
+.album-card-thumb img {
+  width: 100%;
+  height: 100%;
+  object-fit: cover;
 }
 
 .album-card-info {
@@ -735,6 +759,14 @@
   font-size: 1.1rem;
 }
 
+.picker-thumb-img {
+  width: 40px;
+  height: 40px;
+  object-fit: cover;
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  background: #222;
+}
+
 .picker-item-info {
   flex: 1;
   min-width: 0;
diff --git a/app/admin/components/AlbumPicker.tsx b/app/admin/components/AlbumPicker.tsx
index 3c1ff06..dd86d57 100644
--- a/app/admin/components/AlbumPicker.tsx
+++ b/app/admin/components/AlbumPicker.tsx
@@ -68,7 +68,12 @@ export default function AlbumPicker({ albums, onSelect, onClose, usedAlbumIds }:
               >
                 <div className="picker-item-thumb">
                   {album.thumbnailAssetId ? (
-                    <div className="picker-thumb-placeholder">📷</div>
+                    <img
+                      className="picker-thumb-img"
+                      src={`/api/admin/thumbnail/${album.thumbnailAssetId}`}
+                      alt=""
+                      loading="lazy"
+                    />
                   ) : (
                     <div className="picker-thumb-placeholder">📁</div>
                   )}
diff --git a/app/admin/components/PageBuilder.tsx b/app/admin/components/PageBuilder.tsx
index 6b26f2c..8ffb9f4 100644
--- a/app/admin/components/PageBuilder.tsx
+++ b/app/admin/components/PageBuilder.tsx
@@ -419,6 +419,11 @@ export default function PageBuilder() {
     return found?.assetCount || 0;
   }
 
+  function getAlbumThumbnailId(id: string): string | null {
+    const found = immichAlbums.find((a) => a.id === id);
+    return found?.thumbnailAssetId || null;
+  }
+
   // ── Render ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
   if (loading) {
     return (
@@ -467,6 +472,12 @@ export default function PageBuilder() {
           )}
           {gallery.hero.map((id, i) => (
             <div key={i} className="hero-item">
+              <img
+                className="hero-item-thumb"
+                src={`/api/admin/thumbnail/${id}`}
+                alt=""
+                loading="lazy"
+              />
               <span className="hero-uuid" title={id}>
                 {id.slice(0, 8)}...{id.slice(-4)}
               </span>
@@ -499,6 +510,7 @@ export default function PageBuilder() {
               album={album}
               name={getAlbumName(album.id)}
               count={getAlbumCount(album.id)}
+              thumbnailId={getAlbumThumbnailId(album.id)}
               onRemove={() => removeStandaloneAlbum(i)}
               onUpdate={(updates) => {
                 setGallery((g) => {
@@ -624,6 +636,7 @@ export default function PageBuilder() {
                       album={album}
                       name={getAlbumName(album.id)}
                       count={getAlbumCount(album.id)}
+                      thumbnailId={getAlbumThumbnailId(album.id)}
                       onRemove={() => removeSubpageAlbum(spIndex, aIndex)}
                       onUpdate={(updates) => {
                         setGallery((g) => {
@@ -684,6 +697,7 @@ export default function PageBuilder() {
                           album={album}
                           name={getAlbumName(album.id)}
                           count={getAlbumCount(album.id)}
+                          thumbnailId={getAlbumThumbnailId(album.id)}
                           onRemove={() => removeSectionAlbum(spIndex, secIndex, aIndex)}
                           onUpdate={(updates) => {
                             setGallery((g) => {
@@ -767,16 +781,26 @@ interface AlbumCardProps {
   album: AlbumEntry;
   name: string;
   count: number;
+  thumbnailId: string | null;
   onRemove: () => void;
   onUpdate: (updates: Partial<AlbumEntry>) => void;
 }
 
-function AlbumCard({ album, name, count, onRemove, onUpdate }: AlbumCardProps) {
+function AlbumCard({ album, name, count, thumbnailId, onRemove, onUpdate }: AlbumCardProps) {
   const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState(false);
 
   return (
     <div className="album-card">
       <div className="album-card-main">
+        {thumbnailId && (
+          <div className="album-card-thumb">
+            <img
+              src={`/api/admin/thumbnail/${thumbnailId}`}
+              alt=""
+              loading="lazy"
+            />
+          </div>
+        )}
         <div className="album-card-info">
           <span className="album-card-name">{album.title || name}</span>
           <span className="album-card-count">{count} photos</span>
diff --git a/app/api/admin/thumbnail/[id]/route.ts b/app/api/admin/thumbnail/[id]/route.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d1842e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/api/admin/thumbnail/[id]/route.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/**
+ * Admin-only thumbnail proxy — serves small thumbnails for the admin panel
+ * using raw Immich asset UUIDs (no token encoding needed since admin is authenticated).
+ */
+
+import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';
+import { isAdminAuthenticated, isAdminEnabled } from '@/lib/admin/auth';
+import { getConfig } from '@/lib/config';
+
+export async function GET(
+  request: NextRequest,
+  { params }: { params: Promise<{ id: string }> },
+) {
+  if (!isAdminEnabled()) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Admin not enabled' }, { status: 403 });
+  }
+  if (!(await isAdminAuthenticated())) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 });
+  }
+
+  const config = getConfig();
+  if (config.needsSetup) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Not configured' }, { status: 503 });
+  }
+
+  const { id: assetId } = await params;
+
+  // Validate it looks like a UUID
+  const uuidRegex = /^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/i;
+  if (!uuidRegex.test(assetId)) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Invalid asset ID' }, { status: 400 });
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const res = await fetch(
+      `${config.immich.apiUrl}/assets/${assetId}/thumbnail?size=thumbnail`,
+      {
+        headers: {
+          'x-api-key': config.immich.apiKey,
+          Accept: 'application/octet-stream',
+        },
+      },
+    );
+
+    if (!res.ok) {
+      return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Asset not found' }, { status: 404 });
+    }
+
+    const contentType = res.headers.get('content-type') || 'image/jpeg';
+    const body = res.body;
+
+    return new NextResponse(body, {
+      headers: {
+        'Content-Type': contentType,
+        'Cache-Control': 'private, max-age=3600',
+      },
+    });
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.error('[Admin Thumbnail] Failed to fetch:', err);
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Failed to fetch thumbnail' }, { status: 502 });
+  }
+}