The Navy pulled out in the early 1970s and Key West became a haven for hippies, bikers, vagabonds, and free spirits of all kinds. With her finger to the wind and astutely taking note, Judy Sullivan transformed the Navy hangout into an open-air hipster watering hole. She re-named it The Green Parrot Bar.
For every Navy customer who remained, it seemed there was a hippie, sailor or nomad on the next barstool. It became a place for travelers to rendezvous, to mingle with the bar’s cast of eccentric local characters, and to perhaps glimpse a celebrity seeking refuge in its cool anonymity.