I wish the NYT would cut it out with this super interactive article format. It might make sense for some (very limited) set of things, but a photo album is not one of them
It's probably tailored for the NYT app.
The Times is one of the few real journalism sources willing to try new things. When they do, the HN crowd says The Times crap. When they don't, the HN crowd says The Times a relic and should die.
I'm a subscriber, and happy that it's at least trying. Some of the visualizations and AR stories are remarkable.
They could have had little go pros tacked up all over the hallway and pulled video and frames that would have put together a better account. (Not that it would help them sell more ads etc but the presentation to your point isn't that good given what it could be).
I'm not sure how well it'd worked on a portrait display!
I'll poke around and see if NYT is now usable with JS disabled.